Opposing Perspectives
by CrowOuttaHell
Summary: New school, same friends, different classmates. What happens when a former Literature Club president has to team up with a temperamental musician to bring back their new school's old club system?
1. Prologue

**(Disclaimer: I do not own Doki Doki Literature Club or any of its characters. The OCs featured here, however, are mine.**

**More details about this fic in the end Author's Note, so stay tuned!)**

* * *

_It wasn't as if Monika lacked any fond memories of family meals—in fact, she had plenty. _

_Old memories of their well-furnished dining room and kitchen lighted up with various different light fixtures, making the various appliances around the room sparkle and gleam as if they were brand new once again. The tantalizing smell of stews bubbling on the stove, roasting meat (even if she didn't have as much of a taste for it as her father, she could appreciate the delectable aroma it emitted) and freshly chopped vegetables and fruits. _

_She remembered running excitedly into the kitchen each time, pestering her mother or her father- whoever was cooking for the day- about what was for breakfast, for lunch, for dinner. She remembered her mother's patient remarks and her father's smile as he found himself infected by her enthusiasm._

_Meals, then, had also been lively and hearty—her father's gleeful stories of what happened at work, her mother patiently listening and offering what little words she could in response, and herself sharing stories of what happened at school._

_Those warm, old memories were a stark contrast to how their family meals were nowadays._

"_Monika? Are you okay?"_

_Her recollection was cut short by the gentle voice of her father. She shook the memories of stews and lively conversations out of her mind to bring herself back to reality, no matter how dreary it would be._

_She usually liked the sound of rain, but the constant pattering of raindrops against their window only served to make their family meal duller than it already was. A certain grimness had set over them throughout the entire meal- her mother ate with quick, efficient movements as if it was just another chore to accomplish, and her father seemed to have a dozen things on his mind, barely having touched the food on his plate._

_Monika felt a pang of guilt in her chest. Here she was, spacing out while her father was worrying over far more important things, she was sure. She pasted on a reassuring smile to ease his burdens somewhat._

"_I'm fine."_

"_That's good." Despite his gentle smile, she could definitely see the weariness in her father's expression. The smile dropped as quickly as it came as another troubling thought hit him. "I know the news must be very sudden, after all."_

_Monika winced. It **was** sudden- too sudden, even. The news of her school closing down._

_She'd only spent a few school years there, and, fortunately, the news came during a break before the next school year. But now this brought up an unexpected wrench in their family's airtight budgeting—they had to look for another school. _

_Part of her still missed it. She'd met friends, started a club, and achieved a great number of things. Her grades certainly wouldn't go to waste, but…she couldn't deny that a part of her also remained frustrated at the fact that she, for lack of a better term, was going to have to start over from scratch._

_Her mother got up from the table, wordlessly carrying her plate to the kitchen. She was so distant from their family nowadays—immersing herself in work all day and going to bed early. __Even then, Monika found herself suppressing a shiver. She could tell her mother was disappointed again._

_She was always disappointed, nowadays. _

_Her__ father frowned a bit and sighed, running a hand through his short brown hair. __"The least you could do was be a bit more considerate of your daughter's problems, Collette," He murmured under his breath. He flashed his daughter an apologetic smile. _

_"I'm really sorry, Monika. I wish I could do more."_

_Monika shifted a little in her seat. This was one of the many reasons she didn't like coming to family meals all that much anymore. It was always the same scene- her attempts at lightening the mood with stories of what happened at school, her father trying his best to appear less weary and show some enthusiasm, and her mother's cold, short interruptions to ask about her grades. _

_Luckily, she had a conversation topic that could possibly turn this one around, even if her mother wasn't around to hear it. _

_"Me and my friends went looking around the city, last weekend," She admitted- perhaps a little suddenly. But if her father was shocked at her admission, he certainly didn't look the part. _

_"Oh?"_

_"Yeah...we wanted to stay together, so...we asked Sayori's mother if she knew any good places after having no luck searching for ourselves." _

"_So, did you find anything...?__" Her father looked up, a faint hope bringing back light to his eyes. _

_For once, she met his gaze again and smiled. _

_"We might have."_

* * *

And that was how she found herself standing at the gates to an all new environment.

Rokurou Academy's gates stood right in front of her. It really didn't look too different from her old one—a wide mass of gray, with a clock smack dab in the center and various windows. The campus was massive, trees lining almost every pathway. There was already quite the number of students coming in- everyone was always pressured to make a good first impression at the start of the school year after all.

Finding herself strangely daunted, the brunette glanced down at her phone one more time—fixing her hair in the reflection before flicking it on in order to check her messages. The continuous stream of text messages in their group chat was still ongoing, lifting the heavy feeling from her shoulders somewhat. She found herself giggling at Sayori's rushed replies and Natsuki's short but to the point messages, smiling at Yuri's sparse but perfectly worded ones.

That was right—she still had her friends, after all. She had nothing to fear.

Tucking her phone back into her pocket and smoothing out her already pristine skirt, she held her head high and faced forward.

Time to take her first steps into a new reality.

* * *

**Author's Note: Welcome to _Opposing Perspectives, _a DDLC fanfic I've put off for too long. If it wasn't clear from the above contents, this is set in a canon-divergence, normal AU- while the girls' underlying issues still exist, it is no longer caused by a glitch in the game or Monika's tampering. Similarly, Monika's self-awareness is not present in this fic so if you were looking for a Promised Day kind of fanfic, this unfortunately isn't one.**

**The main focus is on OC X Monika, though there will be hints of other OCs and the rest of the club members. **

**With that being said, please feel free to leave a review if you enjoy the story so far, and I hope you look forward to the continued writing of _Opposing Perspectives_!**


	2. 1 - New Environments

**Opposing Perspectives Chapter 1 - New Environments**

**(Disclaimer: I do not own Doki Doki Literature Club or any of its characters. The OCs featured here, however, are mine.)**

* * *

Rokurou Academy was a towering, blocky mass of gray that made it look like a giant, stone wall dividing the campus in two. Monika remembered her old school building being made up of a similarly towering building with several floors- Rokurou looked like that, except tipped over onto its side. Glass windows littered its sides, a massive clock right in the middle of the building, hanging just above the doors leading in.

Taking a glance down at her phone, she read the time.

6:25 AM.

Truthfully, she'd come a little earlier than she'd planned with the rest of her friends. Her father had discouraged her from going too early, but being at the school and getting acquainted with her new surroundings was still a better, more efficient use of time than just pacing restlessly in her house.

"They said they'd show up at 6:30..." She mumbled half-heartedly. After a few years of being friends, she liked to think she had the three's usual senses of time figured out already.

Yuri usually strived to arrive early or at the very least on time.

Natsuki was the same, but usually arrived a few minutes later than her promised time due to the distance of her house from the school.

And Sayori...

Well, Sayori was a lost cause. No matter how energetic and optimistic Sayori was, she wasn't exactly a morning person.

As if on cue, however, she spotted a familiar, tall figure walking just up ahead...at what could only be described as only slightly faster than a snail's pace. Hastening her steps, Monika quickly caught up to the taller girl with an energetic greeting.

"Yuri! Good morning~!"

It was always fun to see how Yuri reacted to having her name suddenly called out. The purple-haired girl's expression went from fearful and anxious, to a look of familiarity, to outright relief as she quickly made her way over.

"O-Oh, Monika...good morning."

For a little while, the two of them walked through the wide campus grounds. While Yuri was taking the moment to regain her composure, Monika allowed herself to look around and try to acquaint herself with her new surroundings.

Rokurou had a wider campus space than her old school did- numerous trees lining the paths, with a few pavilions and benches scattered about. Rokurou's students, with their navy blazers, and their ties and bows in different colors. Both old and new students were already scattered across the campus- catching up with friends or just trying to make their way to their classrooms.

"Are Sayori and Natsuki not here yet?"

Yuri's voice snapped her out of her observations.

"Not yet...then again, it's the first day of school so the traffic must be terrible right now."

As she turned her head to look at Yuri closer, she noted something different. The taller girl's usual horror novel was nowhere in sight- instead, she was clutching a bright, shiny magazine closely to her chest. It stood out so much from Yuri's usual reading material that the brunette couldn't help but ask.

"What are you reading?"

"Oh, this is the school's official publication," Yuri held up the magazine for the other girl to see. "They were only just setting out a rack with copies of it in front of the school gates..."

"Let me guess, you waited for the crowd to thin out before taking one for yourself, and that's why you arrived a little later?" Monika allowed herself a little tease. Almost like clockwork, Yuri's face flushed a little red.

"U-Uuu-! Don't..."

"Ahaha~" Monika directed her gaze away from her friend's flushed face to the magazine she was presenting.

The magazine was rather colorful, depicting students of all grade levels smiling happily in front of the school gates. Bold letters declared the publication's title on top, just next to the school logo emblazoned in the top right corner- **Anthem**, it read.

It had all the bells and whistles of a magazine one would expect to see at their local convenience store, but there was something decidedly unique about it that just screamed "student made"- from how the cover page was down to the large letters littering the page.

"BACK TO SCHOOL - A NEW STUDENT'S GUIDE TO ROKUROU ACADEMY"

"MORE JOKES, COMICS AND GAMES IN OUR NEW AND IMPROVED FUN SECTION!"

"CREATIVE FABLES AND SHORT STORIES IN THE LITERARY SECTION"

_"Literary section?" _That certainly got her attention. The school publication had a platform for showing off students' works of literature?

Noticing her obvious interest in it, Yuri sheepishly sidled up beside her and opened the magazine, thankful to shift Monika's interest from her to the contents of the publication.

The first page was a quick introduction to the magazine, along with photos of the publication members inserted just underneath, along with their names.

She didn't get that much of a glance at their names as Yuri quickly flipped through the pages. Sure enough, there were numerous articles contained within- news about the changes made to the school building from the past year, past events and their results, a school trip that the faculty went on...

True enough, there was a section for tips and tricks for new students contained within. It had a map of the school grounds and buildings on campus, humorous suggestions on where to eat and where to find the bathrooms, and the basic ground rules for every class.

Yuri pored over the information as if it were one of her immersive fantasy novels, running the tips of her fingers over the printed words and committing the map to memory. Monika found herself doing the same.

Finally, she flipped through the Literary Section. True to the headlines, there were short stories and even fables...but...

"They don't seem to have poems in here..." Surprisingly, Yuri voiced her thoughts. Monika gave a small nod, trying to keep her disappointment from showing.

"That's a shame..." Before she could say anything further, though, a high pitched voice cut her train of thought.

"Monika! Yuri!"

Yuri squeaked in surprise as a whirling- albeit clumsy- mass of coral pink hair approached them rapidly. Monika allowed herself to smile at Sayori's arrival, noticing Natsuki following suit at her own, leisure pace.

"Good morning~!" Sayori giggled.

"Good morning to you too, Sayori, Natsuki." Monika greeted back. Natsuki took a look around the campus, brow furrowing somewhat.

"Geez...we almost couldn't find you guys! There are way too many people here..." The shorter girl muttered, placing her hands on her hips.

"Ahaha~ It is the first day of school after all."

"And we managed to find them in the end since Yuri's so tall~" Sayori chirped, deepening the flush of red across the purple-haired girl's face even more.

"U-Uuu...!"

"Uh, guys, I hate to rain on your parade, but..."

It was Natsuki's voice that snapped them out of it as the pink-haired girl shuffled through her skirt pocket and took out her phone- an ancient but sturdy little pink block. Bold numbers read **6:50 AM.**

Monika's phone buzzed as if on cue, and she glanced down at the reminder displayed on the screen.

_"Reminder: 10 minutes until First Homeroom Session at Room 307"_

All four shared a look.

"So," Natsuki broke the silence.

"Run?"

Monika nodded grimly.

"Run."

* * *

Though it took an insane amount of weaving and running through the packed school hallways- it was _10 minutes to the first class, why wasn't anyone rushing?!_-, they finally found themselves standing in front of Room 307. Luckily, Rokurou's main school building didn't seem too complex- just two or three hallways littered with nine or so classrooms per floor along with the stairs.

The only downside was that there were no elevators. Just stairs.

"Awawa...I miss the elevators in our old building already..." Sayori spoke through heaving breaths, hands on her knees. It was a miracle the clumsy girl didn't trip over herself while they were rushing up the stairs.

"There's a special place in hell for architects who purposefully do this," Natsuki muttered- though slightly winded, she seemed mostly alright.

Monika stole a look over at Yuri, who had gone dead silent. Her face was all but buried into the school magazine again, eyes furiously scanning the map printed on the pages; though on closer inspection, she could see the tall girl fighting back trembles.

Before she could move to try and calm her down, however, a hearty voice reached their ears.

"Excuse me... Are you four lost?"

Turning, all four noticed a rather large and stocky man approaching them. His short, cropped brown hair and heavy coat easily gave away that he was no student- and the books tucked under his arm moreso. With the three others stunned into silence, Monika took the initiative and spoke.

"Oh, no! We were just about to head in for homeroom." It wasn't a lie, of course. The older man's expression softened, and he looked down to one of his books. Realization dawned over his face.

"Oh, you must be the four new students we're getting, then!" He offered a sheepish smile. "I'm terribly sorry, I just...I just thought you were first years since one of you was short and all...'

Monika stifled a giggle when she heard Natsuki almost splutter in indignation. Fortunately, the man didn't notice.

"I'm Keiichi Takada, the homeroom teacher for Class 2C this year." Shifting a little on his feet, he clasped his hands behind his back.

"Can you four stay outside for a bit while I inform the rest of the class? I'll tell you when it's time to come in."

"Yes, of course." As Keiichi headed into the classroom and closed the door behind him, Monika turned to the rest of her friends.

"At least the teacher seems nice~" Sayori chirped, ever the optimist in any given situation.

"I can't believe he mistook me for a first year." Natsuki muttered, folding her arms over her chest- barely restraining herself from stomping off in a huff.

Yuri had long since tucked the magazine back into her book bag, now settling on wringing her fingers to calm herself. It was almost worrying just how anxious she seemed to be- while she had learned to be more comfortable around them, she was thrust into an all new environment all too suddenly.

Not that the others weren't just as anxious as she was. The others just seemed to have their own ways of faking confidence.

It didn't take long until Keiichi appeared at the doorway again, holding the door open. A broad grin was on his face, seemingly excited.

"Come on in," He called.

And, without missing a beat, Monika took the first steps into the classroom. She heard the others eventually clamber in behind her, though she kept quiet despite feeling the numerous gazes settling on them as they wrote their names on the blackboard.

_Sayori Fujiwara_

_Natsuki Miyamoto_

_Yuri Ishida_

_Monika Harriet_

Of all the names on the board, hers drew the most interest, and for good reason. It hadn't really been hard writing her foreign name in katakana, but it was an odd sight all the same especially next to the more traditional names of her friends.

"These four students will be joining your class for the rest of the school year," Keiichi explained, flashing the rest of the class a sheepish smile, "so let's all make sure to get along with them, okay?"

There came a chorus of whispers afterwards- Monika faintly picked out the words "foreigner" and "cute" being tossed around. Keiichi instructed them to sit in whatever open seat was available, so she found herself taking one just a few spaces away from the very front of the class.

Homeroom went on fairly simply- Keiichi discussed the basic ground rules, which Monika took down into her notebook with gusto. There was also a brief discussion of how the grades were tallied, though she could tell that most of her other new classmates were beginning to zone out.

Truthfully, with all the necessities copied down onto her notebook, she was starting to, as well...at least until she felt a tap on her arm. Blinking, she looked over and found herself face to face with her seatmate- a girl with black hair tied into twintails with a gentle, friendly smile on her face.

"Hey," The girl greeted, smiling. "New student, right? Welcome to Rokurou."

"Thank you," Monika smiled back politely. It was always better to strike up the right first impression with her classmates. "I'm Monika Harriet."

"Yanagi. Ishikawa Yanagi." The girl briefly shook her hand before letting go.

"Is this your first time in a school away from your country?"

"Oh, no. I actually came from Katayama High."

Yanagi's brow furrowed a little. "That's the one that suddenly shut down, right? I'm really sorry. It must have been a shock."

"Yeah, it was...but Rokurou seems like a very nice school so far, at least." Monika took a cursory glance around the classroom to prove her point- the walls were all painted an off-white, and the whole room was air-conditioned despite the curtains not blocking the windows. Sunlight streamed in, making it appear brighter than it should have been.

"Oh, yeah. No need to worry about that." Yanagi smiled reassuringly. "Rokurou at least prides itself on its campus."

"Well, I wouldn't expect anything less from a school that can afford to print out multiple copies of its own magazine." Monika remarked. At this, Yanagi's brows shot up in surprise.

"You've seen Anthem already?" Yanagi's expression brightened. "Can you tell me what you think about it?"

"I don't mind, but...you seem very excited to hear feedback on it." Monika couldn't help but quirk an eyebrow. "Are you part of the staff?"

"Yeah," Yanagi grinned. "I'm the editor in chief."

"Oh!" Monika's brows shot up in surprise. Thinking back on it, Yanagi's name did ring a bell. She probably spotted it in the magazine earlier.

Yanagi laughed. "I know- I don't look the part, do I?"

"It's not that, I just didn't expect I'd be in the same section as the editor-in-chief of the school publication."

"Two editors, actually." The twintailed girl looked around. "Though he hasn't shown up yet." The girl gave a resigned sigh, but soon looked back up with a grin.

"So, what did you think of the magazine? Comments? Questions? Violent reactions?"

"I haven't really gotten the chance to read through all of it, but..."

As she spoke, she watched Yanagi taking down notes on her phone as she listened intently to Monika's comments. If anything, she at least seemed very determined about improving the publication.

"Oh, and this is just a personal pick of mine, but...the Literary Section doesn't feature poetry, does it?"

Yanagi stopped at this, raising an eyebrow. "The Literary Section?"

Monika nodded. "Yes. It featured short stories and whatnot, but there didn't seem to be any poetry."

Yanagi hummed a little as she mulled the remark over. "I'll have to tell the editor for that section...though," She smiled sheepishly, "The Literary Section doesn't really get that many contributors. Our editor runs it on his own."

The brunette felt a small frown come to her face—that just seemed like a bit of waste. An entire section dedicated for literary works and nobody was contributing? "That's unfortunate…"

"It really is…" Yanagi seemed to perk up somewhat, her eyes alight with some sort of new thought.

"Why do you ask? Could you be interested in literature, Miss Harriet-?"

"Please," Monika offered a polite smile, "just Monika is fine."

"Monika, then," Yanagi relaxed, her own expression growing sheepish. "Sorry, it's not everyday we get a foreign student. Last one we had was way back in elementary!"

"No, no, it's okay. And as for your question—I do, actually! I used to run the Literature Club back in Katayama. The three girls I joined Rokurou with were all members, you know." At her mention of the club, Yanagi's expression shifted again, the twin-tailed girl's eyes now glimmering.

"Hey, maybe you could help out Anthem a bit, if you guys are comfortable." Yanagi grinned.

"Oh?"

"Yeah, you could try contributing to the Literary Section! I'm sure our editor would appreciate the help, and I really don't want to be stressing him out too much…"

Monika took a moment to ponder the idea. She could probably do it, as would Sayori—if their club meetings and poem sharing sessions had been anything to go off on. Yuri and Natsuki had mostly gotten comfortable with sharing with one another, but with anyone else…?

She voices her thoughts to Yanagi uncertainly. "I can probably do it, but I'm not sure about the others."

"It's okay," Yanagi smiles reassuringly. "We'll take any help we can get, especially since Anthem's trying to get the club system back."

"The club system-?" Monika didn't get to finish the question as Yanagi looked up, her attention apparently being called by Keiichi. Both girls flush somewhat—it was a little embarrassing to have already been caught whispering to each other in class on the first day.

Yanagi peers over at her with a sheepish grin. "Sorry…tell you what, I'll bring you over to the publication office later and let you meet the editor for the Literary Section. He might be able to explain it a little clearer than I can." The girl tilted her head. "That is, if you want me to…?"

"I'll take you up on that offer, thank you." No harm in finding out more, she figured. She'd love for a chance to restart the Club after all, since all four former members were still here. At her words, Yanagi flashed her a relieved grin.

"That's good. So, I'll see you here after class, okay?"

Monika nodded, finding her curiosity starting to grow. Katayama didn't have their own school newspaper—it would certainly be interesting to see how one worked from the inside.

The bell rang, signalling the end of homeroom. A quick look around showed her that some of the students were already getting up from their desks- she noticed some coming towards her friends, probably intent on socializing with the new students.

With a small laugh and a sympathetic shake of the head for Yuri- who, upon noticing the numerous pairs of eyes honing in on her, retreated further into her book-, Monika turned to face the front of the class again.

_"Looks like this is going to be a fun year..."_

* * *

**Author's Note: Trying to get some exposition stuff out of the way. I promise you'll be seeing the main OCs by next chapter, so just stay tuned! **

**There's not really much to say about the above chapter, so for the time being; feel free to leave a review if you enjoy the story so far, and I hope you look forward to the continued writing of _Opposing Perspectives!_**


	3. 2 - Tying Unfamiliar Bonds

**Opposing Perspectives Chapter 2 – Tying Unfamiliar Bonds**

**(Disclaimer: I do not own Doki Doki Literature Club or any of its characters. The OCs featured here, however, are mine.)**

* * *

The next few classes passed by in a flash. The teachers weren't really intent on starting any lessons, it being the first day and all. The most they got were subject syllabi, which at least gave the students a head-start on getting some reading done on the lessons. Monika made a mental note to herself to review them later, when she had the time.

The lunch bell rang. Since the teacher had dismissed them early, the chatter of the classroom didn't die down any, though the students around her began to move out of the classroom; chatting gleefully with one another as they went. Monika took a moment to stretch as she got up from her seat, glancing around the room for the rest of her club members.

She managed to spot Natsuki just rising from her seat, along with Yuri…who looked completely, utterly defeated. Both of them made the decision to move over to the purple-haired girl's table.

"Geez, Yuri. Why the long face?" Natsuki was the first to break the silence, hands on her hips as she stared down at her defeated clubmate.

"Uuu…"

Monika sidled up beside Yuri, lightly patting her shoulder. "Come on, now—it's not that bad, is it? The class seems to be pretty friendly so far."

"Friendly, yeah." Natsuki scoffed. "I already heard someone whispering about my height earlier."

The only thing Monika could do in that situation was laugh a little awkwardly. It was hard to say anything about Natsuki's height, especially with how aggressive the short, pink-haired girl could get about it.

Yuri raised her head somewhat, starting to regain her composure. "W-Well…it's not as if I'm saying they're unfriendly, or anything. They're just a little overwhelming."

"Overwhelming?" Natsuki raised an eyebrow. "There's like, 20 students, including us, in the class. We had more students in our old class."

"Well, yeah, but having more students made it easier to just blend in," Monika pointed out. "Fewer people in the class can bring out each student a lot more."

Yuri timidly nodded in agreement. Natsuki huffed, folding her arms over her chest. "I guess that makes sense…"

Silence settled over them for a little bit, bringing to attention a strange lack of a particular, bubbly girl.

"Where's Sayori, anyway?" Natsuki brought up, looking around the room. "She just upped and disappeared on us!"

Almost as if summoned, a familiar head of coral pink hair peeked through the classroom door. Sayori grinned from where she stood in the doorway, clutching a wrapped lunchbox close.

"Guys, I went ahead and found us a table at the cafeteria! Come on!"

"Do we have to?" Natsuki's brows furrowed a little. "It's gonna be way too noisy there…"

"I-I agree…it's not like we're going to be reprimanded for taking lunch in the classroom." Yuri glanced over the notebook she had open atop her desk, the ground rules from the homeroom session written in her pristine handwriting on the neat pages. "A-At least, it wasn't mentioned in the ground rules…"

"Well, I…kinda told the people we're sharing tables with that I'd be bringing some friends over!" Sayori twiddled her fingers, giving a sheepish laugh. At this news, though, both Natsuki and Yuri seemed to bristle.

"Sayori!" Yuri's expression went from nervous to on the verge of panic.

Natsuki snapped. "You didn't think of asking us first?!"

"W-Well, there weren't any other open tables in the cafeteria and one of them was my seatmate and he seemed really nice and—" Sayori trailed off, faltering somewhat under Natsuki's glare and Yuri's panicked expression. Finding herself at the mercy of her two clubmates, the bubbly girl turned her gaze on the only person who hadn't spoken yet.

"A-And I'd hate to be rude! Right, Monika?"

"We wouldn't be in this if you hadn't immediately told them you were bringing us along," Natsuki groaned, turning her attention on the former club president as well. "Come on, Monika, help me explain that to her!"

To the pink-haired girl's dismay, though, Monika already seemed to be deep in thought.

"No…Sayori's right, Natsuki. We shouldn't be impolite, and it seems like she trusts the people at the table, at least."

Sayori's expression lit up as she heard the brunette siding with her.

"Besides, we're going to be staying here for the rest of high school. We should at least get to know our classmates better." The brunette pointed out.

"Yeah…yeah! And maybe you two can find people who share your interests too," Sayori smiled hopefully. "Like, what if someone in our class reads _Parfait Girls_ too, Nat? And what if someone's into…um…memorizing stories, too?"

"Mesmerizing." Yuri mumbled a correction under her breath.

"That! Ehehe…" Sayori giggled sheepishly. Turning back to Natsuki, she pasted on her cutest, most convincing look.

"Come on, Nat! Please~?"

Natsuki seemed to have a retort on the tip of her tongue, though she turned to Yuri briefly. To her dismay, Sayori's words seemed to have taken an effect on the purple-haired girl. Seeing that no help was coming from that direction, Natsuki let out a resigned sigh.

"Fine." She grumbled. "But just this once!"

"Really?! Yay!" Sayori all but pounced on the shorter girl, throwing her arms around the other girl's petite frame and causing her to jolt; eerily reminiscent to a startled cat. The action managed to break the slight tension that had settled over their group, eliciting soft laughter from the two other members. Sayori joined in on the giggling as Natsuki struggled a little in her grip.

"Thanks, Nat~!"

"Alright, alright! Just get off! Geez…" Sayori soon relented, letting the petite girl out of her grasp. Natsuki backed away, rubbing her arms a little and grumbling under her breath.

"So, Sayori," Monika smiled, "mind leading the way?"

"Oh, yeah! Of course!" Sayori bounced on her heels. "I promise, you're gonna have fun!"

The remaining three members all shared a look as Sayori happily skipped out of the classroom, humming cheerfully.

Only one way to find out.

* * *

Sayori certainly wasn't lying when she said there weren't any more open tables at the cafeteria. Despite the cafeteria itself being rather wide, there were only a few tables and far too many students. The lines, thankfully, weren't too long and some of them had packed lunches; so Natsuki was the only one to line up.

"So, where's the table, Sayori?" Monika asked as she watched her friend glancing frantically around the packed cafeteria.

"He should be around here somewhere..." Sayori's brows furrowed in concentration as she peered through the crowd. Catching sight of someone waving to her, the girl's expression brightened and she tugged Monika's sleeve excitedly.

"Over there! Come on~!"

The brunette smiled and let herself be pulled along by Sayori. One figure came into view- the one that seemed to be waving at the bubbly girl. As they came closer still, though, another appeared; then two, then three more.

"Fujiwara-san!"

The one that had called them over stood a little from where he sat at the table, a friendly grin on his face. He seemed to be just about their age, with a tousled head of short, blue hair. He had what Monika liked to call an open face- one that gave away emotions quite clearly as the mirth shining in his forest green eyes.

"Hi, Taiga!" The young man spotted the three following her and was quick to turn his attention to them, politely smiling.

"Hey, you're the new students, right? I didn't know you all knew each other!" He thumped a fist to his chest. "I'm Taiga. Hoshizora Taiga. Glad to meet you!"

Monika found herself smiling at his enthusiasm. She could see how Sayori made a friend out of him so quickly.

"Taiga, at least offer them a seat or something."

A quiet voice came from beside the blue-haired boy. Sitting right next to him was a bespectacled student. Everything about him screamed "proper"- from the way he sat to his neatly pressed and buttoned uniform. The only thing that stood out was his messy black hair, as if he'd simply ran a brush through his bedhead a couple of times.

"Oh, right! Sorry." Taiga turned, motioning to a few open seats just across from where he and his three other friends sat. "We saved seats for you guys, just as Fujiwara-san asked. Have a seat!"

"Don't mind if I do!" Sayori was the first to move, immediately taking a seat just across from Taiga himself. Monika followed, Yuri quickly sitting just in between her and Natsuki, who seemed a bit more reluctant.

"That's Kami. He's the resident smart guy!" Taiga introduced, motioning to the young man with glasses.

"Mikami, actually. Suidobashi Mikami." He smiled politely. "I hope you don't mind sharing tables with us."

"Like we had a choice." Natsuki mumbled.

"Natsuki!" Yuri shot the petite girl a look. Aversive as she was towards socialization, Yuri's desire to not look rude or unsophisticated won over her anxious nature.

...Although the latter came back once she realized that all eyes were now on her.

"U-Um, I mean...the cafeteria is full and all...and..."

"Hey, it's fine. It's just how this place works most of the time."

All four stalled for a moment as a third voice made itself known- belonging to a smiling man sitting just next to Mikami. He stood as a contrast to Mikami's well-groomed appearance; with his long, dark red hair falling over broad shoulders and his unbuttoned blazer's rolled-up sleeves, matched with his oddly colored, golden eyes and playful expression, he gave off a charmingly untidy look.

"Haha, yeah! We're lucky Ran's always got our backs when it comes to finding open tables!" Taiga, oblivious to the group's reaction to his friend, continued. "It's like he has a sixth sense or something."

"I wouldn't go that far, Taiga," Ran chuckled. "I just like to get here early so I can find one for us."

"Yeah, but you can't be bothered to show up early for homeroom, huh?" Mikami joked, nudging the red-haired man with an elbow. Ran shrugged, playfully shoving away his friend's arm.

"Train station lines are merciless, man. Anyway," He turned his attention back on the four, expression shifting from playfulness to amusement- as if he'd caught them inspecting him and was happy to allow it.

"I'm Fujimura Ran. Just Ran's okay, though. Fujimura makes me feel like my dad." He flashed yet another charming smile, causing Natsuki to huff and Yuri to...Monika had to blink a few times. Did she just catch a hint of red on the purple-haired girl's face?

"Hey, we have almost the same last name!" Sayori smiled. Ran's brows shot up in realization.

"Oh, we do, don't we? That's a nice little coincidence."

"Alright, wise guy," Mikami prompted again, looking over at Ran. "What do you do when you get to the cafeteria late and there are no tables?"

"That's out of my hands in that situation." Ran shrugged, throwing a look to the side. "I usually leave that to Sai. Right?"

"Yeah."

The last voice was low, and a little raspy- much unlike Ran's composed tone. Taiga's face lit up as he heard it.

"Boss!"

"Boss...?" Monika looked to the end of the table, following Taiga's and Ran's line of sight. Her gaze landed on a rather rough looking young man reclining in his seat, arms folded behind his head of long, blond hair tied into a loose and low ponytail. His bangs were long, though she could spot the hints of sharp, piercing blue eyes just under. He didn't seem to have a blazer, instead swapping it out for a black jacket that seemed to stick to his shoulders- though it was a little hard to tell from his posture.

"Ah, sorry. That's Taiga's nickname for him." Mikami cut in. "That's Sai."

"Karasu Sai." The blond finished, throwing a lazy look over all four of them. He didn't seem aggressive now, but there was just something about him that seemed like it- perhaps it was due to his mussed appearance. "So you must be the new students, yeah?"

"That's right." Monika spoke this time. "It's a pleasure to meet you all."

"No need to be formal. We're classmates, after all!" Taiga piped up with a grin. Monika giggled a little.

"You seem really enthusiastic about this, Hoshizora-kun."

"Am I?" Taiga grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. "Sorry, it's just that we haven't had new classmates in a while."

"Oh?"

"Yeah." Mikami confirmed, nodding in agreement. "I've been with this section since middle school and I'm pretty sure I'm the newest."

"Well, before you guys, that is." Ran chimed in.

"Aww..." A mild frown had appeared on Sayori's face. "Why don't you guys get new classmates often?"

"I-I agree...Rokurou seems to have a rather large student population, after all." Yuri spoke up a little, to their surprise.

"Well, 2C's not exactly a priority, I guess." Sai answered, leaning forward and uncrossing his arms from behind his head. "Rumor has it that we're the 'problem' section, since we haven't budged from sixteen students since elementary. Truth is, the A and B sections are higher on the priority list cause they have the bigger classrooms."

"Why didn't we end up in either of those, then?" Natsuki asked, though she didn't sound aggressive- she seemed genuinely curious.

"That depends on the time you enrolled, I guess." Mikami answered, though he seemed to be mulling it over. "If you enrolled late, then the A and B sections have probably already been filled, so you ended up with us in C."

"That's probably what happened...we enrolled late, after all." Monika mused.

"What school did you come from, anyway?" Sai glanced over at them.

"We all came from Katayama High..." Yuri fiddled with her hair a little as she spoke. Sai's expression softened somewhat.

"Katayama, huh? Must've been rough. It's hard to look for new schools, especially on such short notice."

"We wouldn't have gotten here if not for Sayori's mother's recommendation." Monika glanced over at Sayori, who was already halfway through her lunch. "Right, Sayori?"

"Yeah!" Sayori swallowed before speaking again. "Mama told me that some of my cousins used to go here before they moved out, ehehe~"

"Who knows, maybe we might have seen one of them around at some point!" Taiga suggested. "That'd be really cool if we actually did~"

Now that the tension had dissolved somewhat, conversations seemed to flow more freely. Even Natsuki and Yuri seemed a little more relaxed- in a way, it reminded Monika of their very first club meeting.

Her mood lightened by nostalgia, she decided to join in.

"So, why is Karasu-kun called...what was it? Boss?" She prompted, glancing around. It caught the blond's attention as he looked over at her.

"Honestly?" Sai spoke after a bit, amusement creeping into his tone. "I've no idea. It just happened."

"Well, I call a lot of my friends Boss." Taiga admitted, laughing weakly. Sai threw him a smirk.

"Aw, I'm not your only boss? That's a shame."

"N-No! I mean, yeah...I mean-" Taiga awkwardly tried to salvage his quickly derailing train of thought. "You're the only friend I call Boss in the section, so..."

"So Taiga's other bosses are in the other sections." Monika giggled. "So in a sense, you're still the only one. In 2C, at least."

Sai shook his head, chuckling. "Alright, alright, I get it. You're off the hook for now, Taiga."

Taiga let out an exaggerated, relieved sigh.

"You guys are pretty close, huh?" Ran remarked, glancing over the four girls. "Coming to this school all together."

"Yeah, we really are!" Sayori's face lit up as she spoke. "We even had a club! That's how we all met."

Monika caught Sai glancing over at the mention of clubs. A wave of nostalgia seemed to settle over the four boys.

"Clubs, huh?" Mikami chuckled weakly. "Wish Rokurou would bring that system back. We haven't had it since a year or so ago."

"Yeah...we even had sleepovers at the school. Clubs were amazing." Taiga sighed, rubbing his neck.

"What happened, anyway? Why did your club system shut down?" Monika asked. Now was a good time as any to ask, especially since she had to meet with Anthem's editors later that day. Having some background information would be valuable.

"Various reasons, actually." Ran frowned. "The most common reason is that they devoted most of the school's funds and time to expand the campus."

Mikami scratched his cheek. "There's also the idea that teachers were losing out on time and lessons. Our old club system devoted not only the remaining time after class to club activities, we'd also have a day devoted to activities every week."

"That sounds fun!" Sayori gasped.

"Bet the Cooking Club back at Katayama would have loved that," Natsuki mused.

"I don't see how that would be a problem for clubs, though," Yuri seemed curious. "All clubs need are to have a devoted classroom to conduct club activities in, no?"

"Yeah, that would be the case...if Rokurou's club system was anything like the ones you guys probably had." Sai spoke up. "We didn't really have the most traditional club system here at Rokurou. Clubs were founded, and ran by, teachers or staff. Students would just have to pick and choose whatever seems interesting."

"I guess that's where the funds thing came in." Ran shrugged. "We had fundraisers, but the teachers running the clubs would also be given funds by the school to conduct activities. It made for a fun time, but I guess it wasn't that sustainable in the long run."

"That's unfortunate..." Monika found herself mulling it over. She wasn't against the idea of bringing it back- if anything, hearing from Yanagi that the publication wanted to bring back the club system, along with seeing the four reminiscing about it. only strengthened her resolve further. But would working with the Literary section be enough...?

"After the system was dissolved, they only really left a few of the clubs, called them student organizations, and focused on the campus." Sai explained.

"Which organizations would those be...?" Yuri prompted.

Mikami glanced down and counted off on his fingers. "If I remember correctly...the student council-"

"That's a given." Sai chuckled.

"-I know. Anyway, the student council, the school newspaper..." Mikami frowned. "I think the varsity's one?"

"The varsity's a weird case." Taiga spoke up. "I remember that they rounded up the sports clubs and made it mandatory to try out for the varsity team. In a sense, I guess the sports clubs have been merged into the varsity team for Rokurou."

"Are you on the team, Taiga?" Sayori asked. Taiga grinned widely.

"Yeah. It's always been a dream of mine to make it there, but I joined the club for basketball because I wanted to meet other players. Guess the mandatory tryouts at least helped to get more players, at least."

"It still worked out for you guys, I guess." Ran sighed, rubbing his neck. "I miss the Art Club already."

"I'm sure when the clubs come back, they'll bring it back. It was a pretty popular club." Sai reached over to pat him on the back.

A brief silence settled over the table as they quickly finished off what little remained of their lunches- just in time, too, as the bell soon rang and students started packing up and filing out of the cafeteria.

"So, since we're all already here," Ran turned to the rest of them as he stood, an easy smile on his face. "Why don't we all head back to the classroom together?"

"Unless you guys have something else to do before heading back?" Sai shoved his hands into his pockets.

"I don't think we do," Monika glanced back at her friends uncertainly. To her surprise, Natsuki was the one to give a barely perceptible nod, though the girl quickly averted her gaze. Monika smiled- at least it seemed like she didn't feel as bothered as she initially was around the boys.

"Yeah, we'll head back with you." She confirmed, turning back to Ran. The red-haired man relaxed, and his expression seemed to soften; as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He seemed relieved.

"Good to hear." The soft expression was gone as soon as it appeared, replaced again by a playful smile. Ran motioned with his head to the doors of the cafeteria.

"Let's head out, then."

* * *

When the final bell rang, the teacher for their class was already out the door- having dismissed 2C early. Students got up, some still chatting, others simply packing up their items and preparing to make the commute home.

A cursory glance around the room showed Monika that her friends were doing the same. Sayori was in what seemed to be a lively conversation with Taiga, both in the midst of packing up their school supplies. Ran and Mikami were also caught up in their own conversations, just a few desks away from where Natsuki and Yuri were.

Monika blinked a little in surprise as hands clamped onto her shoulders.

"Hey~!"

She looked over to see Yanagi's smiling face just over her shoulder. She flashed the twintailed girl a polite smile.

"Oh, Ishikawa-san!"

"Made some friends already, huh?" Yanagi giggled, glancing over to where Monika had been looking over just earlier. "I don't blame you. Hoshizora-kun always makes sure to introduce himself to every new student. Well," She paused, "not that we've had new students often enough to know."

"He definitely seems like the type who'd do that," The brunette remarked, Taiga's friendly grin coming to mind. He almost reminded her of Sayori.

"So, you want to go check out our office now?" Yanagi looked over at her curiously. "I'm not sure if everyone in the team is going to be there, but I already called the editor for the Literary section over earlier."

"Oh, sure!" She started to stand from her chair, motioning over to her three friends to go on ahead. Sayori gave a nod and an excited wave as she exited the classroom, still chatting happily with the others.

"You sure they don't want to come along?" Yanagi smiled, her tone teasing.

"Maybe next time." Monika laughed.

"I'm going to hold you to that," Yanagi grinned, her eyes twinkling with yet another idea. The brunette found herself idly wondering if Yanagi had been just as delighted at the prospect of new students as the four were.

From the happy smile on her face and the skip in her step as they made their way through the busy halls, though, the answer was practically a guaranteed "yes".

* * *

Yanagi led her through the winding stairs to the ground floor of the school building. Just a little past the security guard's desk was a slope leading down to an even lower floor.

"Watch your step," Yanagi warned teasingly. "Lots of people tend to slip here."

Monika's lips twitched a little in amusement. "Why didn't they just make more stairs?"

"Aesthetic purposes, maybe?" Yanagi laughed softly. "Or maybe it's a safety precaution so that students don't barge into the offices here."

The area of the school Yanagi had led her into was noticeably more quiet than the upper floors, and colder- the corridors were dimly lit, though the bright lights of the offices lining the sides of the hallways made up for it.

"What's down here, anyway?" She prompted. Yanagi hummed.

"Faculty offices, mostly. The computer lab's down here, too, along with the library and music room."

"They keep the library and the music room in the same area?"

"Directly across from each other, yeah." Yanagi motioned to a few windows next to them. Sure enough, on the left side, Monika noticed the familiar scene of a school library- students hunched over desks, reading and writing, surrounded by towering bookshelves. On the right, she saw the music room- while the lights were on, there didn't seem to be anyone inside. Her eyes were drawn to the grand piano in the center of the room, its cover closed.

She smiled. At least she could keep practicing here.

"Don't worry. The music room's soundproofed. It's probably the only soundproofed room on campus." Yanagi laughed.

Finally, they came to a glass door just a few more doors away from the library. Peering inside, she could see a large, brown desk and a few cubicles spread around the small area inside. The walls were stark white- it certainly looked like an office.

Yanagi pushed open the door with a grin. "Welcome to Anthem's office!"

Monika stepped in, a wave of cold air washing over her as she looked around. "Wow...you guys have this entire office to yourselves?"

"Not entirely." Yanagi admitted sheepishly. "The faculty uses this office too. But we at least have it most of the time!"

Yanagi stepped around the desk and past a few cubicles. They were mostly empty aside from a few odds and ends- laptops, notebooks, pens, pencils and erasers scattered across the desks.

"Hey!" She heard Yanagi call out as the twintailed girl stopped just short of one cubicle. "I may have found you a contributor!"

Though she couldn't see past Yanagi, she heard the faint creak of a computer chair and papers being shuffled, accompanied by a soft grumble.

Yanagi turned to her and grinned, motioning over. "Come on in~"

As the twintailed girl stepped aside to allow her to come closer, the brunette finally approached, an introduction already on the tip of her tongue. As she came a few inches short of the open cubicle, though, she found herself stopping.

A familiar figure sat a little hunched over the desk, eyes regarding her at first with surprise- then, what appeared to be amusement.

"Karasu-kun?"

The blond shifted a little in his seat, the corners of his lips lifting somewhat in a half-smile.

"Well," He propped his head up on his palm, regarding her again.

"This is a surprise."

* * *

**Author's Note: Whew! Got all the introductions out of the way. The main ones, at least. I apologize if the original characters are hard to track at times, but that just means I'm gonna have to really make their individual personalities shine so it'll be easier. Wish me luck on that one! **

**That being said, feel free to leave a review if you enjoy the story so far, and I hope you look forward to the continued writing of _Opposing Perspectives!_**


	4. 3 - Coffee and Newspapers

**Opposing Perspectives Chapter 3 - ****Coffee and Newspapers**

**(Disclaimer: I do not own Doki Doki Literature Club or any of its characters. The OCs featured here, however, are mine.)**

* * *

For a long moment, Monika found herself holding the blond's gaze.

It wasn't in her nature to judge people, but this was... unexpected.

"Oh, you two already know each other?" Yanagi piped up, breaking the silence. An oblivious smile was pasted on her face as her gaze shifted from Sai to hers, and from hers to the blond's.

Sai cleared his throat. "We met." He spoke bluntly, his expression back to its sharp look.

"At lunch, yes." Monika nodded, remembering her reason for being there. She turned to the blond again and gave a polite smile. "It's good to see you again, Karasu-kun."

Sai reclined in his seat again, shoulders heaving somewhat with a nonchalant shrug. "Same here."

Another voice soon cut in, hurried footsteps making their way over to where the three were.

"Yanagi, good to see you're here, I need you to- oh?"

Keiichi poked his head from around the cubicle, his eyes lighting up as he saw them. "Oh, miss Harriet!"

"Good afternoon, sensei." The brunette greeted.

"She's here to talk about being a contributor for the Literary section," Yanagi explained, motioning over to where the two were. "I was just introducing them!"

"Oh, that's good." Keiichi smiled, but soon turned to Yanagi. "That being said, though, Yanagi, I need to talk to you for a second. The principal finally told..."

Yanagi and Keiichi soon left the cubicle, voices fading somewhat as they went- leaving the two on their own.

"So," Sai spoke up, shaking an empty can of coffee on his desk, "you want to get out of here for a second?"

"I thought we were going to talk about contributing?" The brunette tilted her head at him somewhat. She had only gotten here, and here he was, about to step out.

"We are," Sai confirmed, rising from his seat as he picked up his discarded black jacket and slung it over his shoulder. There was no better way of putting it- he looked out of place in the office, with his wrinkled undershirt and sleeves rolled up. Even his collar was mussed, his tie either missing or purposefully excluded.

"Just thought we should give 'em some privacy," He explained, jerking his head over to where Keiichi and Yanagi were talking, "And I'm out of coffee."

"Okay, but what if it concerns the publication?" Monika prompted. The blond gave another shrug.

"If it's got anything to do with Anthem, Yanagi will be blathering my ear off for the entire week. So don't worry. I'll know."

He rolled his shoulders somewhat, peering at her curiously through long locks of blond hair. "So, second offer. You wanna get outta here?"

Monika paused for a moment. It wasn't as if there weren't any delinquents in Katayama; there were, though she admittedly hadn't interacted with them all that often. Her parents always loved warning her about those kinds of people.

Looking back at Sai, though, she figured she could give it a shot.

"Alright." She nodded. "Lead the way?"

His brows raised in surprise, as if he hadn't expected her answer. Slowly, she watched his shoulders lower somewhat as he relaxed.

"Good. Let's go, then."

* * *

_Clang!_

Sai didn't lead her far from where the office was. In fact, he had just led her to the side of the building, right next to one of the many vending machines on campus.

The brunette watched her blond companion as he knelt, collecting a black can of coffee from the flap of the vending machine. Though she was usually quick to initiate conversation, their walk there had been particularly quiet. He had been a lot more talkative when his friends were around- perhaps he just didn't socialize that often without them?

Her train of thought was cut off when Sai looked over at her, their eyes meeting. She caught the way his brow furrowed as he stood.

"Something wrong?"

Monika shook her head. "Nothing, don't worry."

Despite her words, Sai reached up for a moment, brushing his fingers over his cheek for a minute and glancing quickly over his fingertips, as if checking if there was anything on his face. Upon seeing that there was nothing, he relaxed again.

"So," He spoke idly, cracking open the can. "You like literature, Harriet?"

"I do," She confirmed, and smiled. "That's why I'm here, right?"

Sai's gaze shot to hers, eyeing her quickly up and down. "Yeah." He spoke bluntly. "You seem like the type who would."

_"Now, what's that supposed to mean?" _She stopped herself from asking the question, though she was sure it'd probably linger in her head for a while. She didn't look as bookish as Yuri, did she?

_"Then again..."_ Monika quickly mimicked him, casting her gaze over him from head to toe. Messy hair, an even messier uniform, and beat up sneakers. "I didn't expect you to be the type who does, though." She remarked.

Bringing her gaze back up, she found him staring back at her—his blue eyes narrowed, seemingly in inspection. It was hard to tell from how his hair obscured them a fraction, but it was the safest guess she had.

Almost as quickly as she glanced him over, Sai snapped his gaze away, his expression unreadable as he shrugged.

"I don't blame you. No one believes I'm the editor until they see my name in the magazine, either."

"About that- Yanagi said you were running it all on your own?" She had to ask. It seemed like a lot of stress on someone, even if they genuinely enjoyed writing. And it seemed like she was right- at the mere mention of it, his posture significantly slackened, as if exhausted. It was like she had tied a heavy weight around his neck.

"Yeah, unfortunately." He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Someone's gotta."

"Have you had previous contributors?"

Sai's lips tightened into a thin line. "A few. They got published but after a while, I guess people lost interest. I don't blame them- school activities can make you loathe it after all."

"School activities?" Monika looked over at him curiously.

"Research papers, essays, book reports, that kind of stuff." Sai glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. "Come on, you can't tell me you haven't loathed writing at one point with all the schoolwork that involves it."

"I don't mind it too much, personally..." Monika mulled it over. She did recall Sayori and Natsuki not particularly enjoying any form of academic or formal writing. It was vastly different from its creative counterpart, after all, with strict rules and templates. "Though I can see how some people wouldn't like it."

"Sounds about right." Sai raised the can of coffee to his lips and took a long swig.

A light silence settled over them. Briefly, Monika's eyes flicked to the can of coffee the blond was nursing like a bottle of tequila, running his words and behavior so far through her head. From his nonchalant words to the exhausted way with which he held himself- it was clear that he was tired. Strange, considering it was the first day of classes.

"So, do you enjoy your work on the publication team?" She asked. Sai lowered the can, his gaze shifting to hers briefly.

"You think I don't?" He arched an eyebrow, as if challenging her to go on.

"I'm not implying that, no," She quickly clarified. "But it's just that you seemed awfully exhausted when we started talking about the publication."

"Huh? Oh, no. This is just how I usually am." Sai seemed to relax, shaking the can of coffee. "I can't function without this, see."

Add an over dependence on caffeine to the list of things that gave away his exhaustion.

"But," He continued, averting his gaze, "at least you didn't imply I hated it. Because I don't hate working on Anthem."

He leaned back a little against the wall just next to the vending machine, gaze seemingly drifting off somewhere.

"I don't hate writing. Hell, I do it way too often for my own good. There's just somethin' about sitting down and letting your mind just go wild that's just... liberating, you know?"

Monika nodded, an analogy coming to mind. "Like setting free a bird from its cage?"

"I was thinkin' something more like finally getting to beat the tar out of all the things that annoy you," Sai gave a wry grin, "But yeah, that works. Like setting a bird free."

"I see..." There was a certain degree of alarm that shot through her at his dry joke. Was that really his way of stress relief?

She rapidly shook the thought out of her head. She shouldn't be judging him this early. "So, what do you usually write?"

"Fiction, mostly." Sai hummed. "Short stories, fantasies, even a few fables and fairytales before, if I felt like it."

"Fables and fairytales?" Monika couldn't help the smile that came up on her face. Hearing someone who looked as rough as he did admit to writing those kinds of light-hearted, child-friendly stories was admittedly, amusing.

Sai nodded. "Yeah. Kiddy stories. I wrote a story about two bowls when I was young and stupid, and a fairytale likening a river to love a few years back in middle school." He paused briefly, looking her over.

"So, what about you, Ribbons?"

"Ribbons?" Now it was her turn to be surprised. The nickname had come out of nowhere- and from someone she just met earlier, to boot. Sai seemed to realize what he had just said and averted his gaze, rubbing his neck.

"I mean- you've got a weird surname, and I ain't calling you by your first name."

"What's so wrong with my first name?" Monika placed one hand on her hip, arching a brow at the blond. Sai jolted, still avoiding her gaze.

"Geez, nothing's wrong with it. I mean-" He finally looked back at her, turning fully to face her. She found herself having to look up a little to meet his gaze properly. "You're the one who got all chummy first, callin' me Karasu-kun like I'm some schoolboy. I've got all the right to call you Ribbons in this situation."

"Ahaha~ So, you admit you don't mind me calling you that?" Monika smiled, folding her arms over her chest. "Or would you prefer something more formal, Karasu-san?"

"Yeah, no." Sai moved to mirror her pose. "Karasu-kun's fine...if you're all good with me calling you Ribbons for the entire school year." He cracked a half grin.

The brunette pretended to think it over for a few seconds, before finally flashing her companion a smile. "Deal."

Sai let out a raspy laugh at that, leaning against the vending machine and cocking his head to the side. "Keep that up and you're pretty much a guaranteed contributor, Ribbons."

"Oh really?" Monika relaxed. She seemed to have gotten on his good side, at least, and the earlier tension between them had diffused. "You haven't even seen what I can do yet, Karasu-kun."

"Listen," Sai waved a dismissive hand. "You don't wanna know about the kinds of people I usually get as contributors to this section. There's a reason they don't usually get published. For all I care, you're a breath of fresh air compared to the past ones."

"The only thing you're lacking at this point," He glanced down at her, "is a contribution, hence why I was asking what you usually write."

"Is that so? Well..." Monika paused, pursing her lips in thought as she was steered back onto their original topic. "I try to dabble in a lot of forms, but I mostly write poetry."

"Poetry." Sai echoed, whistling a little afterwards. "Haven't seen that in the publication for a while."

"So, the Literary section featured poetry before?" That caught her attention, especially since the current issue didn't have any.

"When someone submits poetry, yeah."

"You never wrote any yourself?"

"Me? Writing poetry?" Sai glanced away, though she caught the faint hint of red on his face. "Never."

"Your expression says otherwise, Karasu-kun~" She teased.

"Okay, I might have. But I never featured them in the publication." The blond groaned. "Anthem doesn't deserve that garbage."

"Come now, it can't be that bad." Monika laughed, stepping closer to him. "We all get a little embarrassed when we write~"

"Yeah, but this isn't just the nervousness you suffer when you write something new," Sai grumbled, his body tensing as if he was preparing to be attacked, "This is some serious embarrassment. I haven't written poetry since middle school."

"Hmm~" The brunette clasped her hands behind her back, leaning forward and stepping closer to him—a teasing smile playing on her lips. Sai tensed further as he took a small step back—he almost seemed like a metal spring coiled back to the maximum.

"Maybe if you get more people reading and contributing to the Literary section or to Anthem in general," He murmured through gritted teeth, averting his gaze from hers, "I'll let you have a look. Or even write a poem for the publication."

"Great!" Monika grinned and straightened up again. "That's about all the motivation I need~"

Now that she wasn't too close, Sai seemed to relax, letting the tension out of his shoulders slowly. "Geez..." He muttered, rubbing the back of his neck again. "You sure are somethin', Ribbons."

At that moment, the bell rang again. A cursory glance at the clock on the main building alerted them that it was already half an hour past the end of classes; even club activities would be done at this point. Monika glanced down at her phone again for confirmation; had they been talking that long?

"Damn, we've been talking that long?" Sai cursed under his breath and tossed the now empty can of coffee into a trash bin nearby.

"Seems like it..." Monika winced. There was still some time to catch the train back home, at least. The only problem was if her mother came back early and scolded her for getting home later than usual.

"You'd better be going if you don't wanna miss the train," Sai echoed her thoughts, shoving his hands into his pockets. "I've still gotta go collect my stuff from the publication office. And about the contribution—just turn something in within this week and we'll see where it goes from there. Got it?"

"Got it." Monika adjusted the straps of her book bag and flashed the blond a sheepish smile. "So, I'll see you tomorrow then, Karasu-kun?"

Sai gave a confident nod. "Yeah. I'll see you tomorrow, Ribbons."

The brunette smiled and waved, turning to leave soon after.

* * *

_Blue eyes followed Monika's retreating back as she walked at a brisk pace, heading for the school gates. She already looked like she fit right into Rokurou despite her being a new student- there was just something about her that seemed to encourage people to open up._

_It was the only reason, Sai tried to tell himself, that he had allowed her to slip past his carefully built up defenses earlier. Calling him so casually and teasing him as if she had known him for years...he sighed and shook his head. It wasn't everyday he let that happen. The only people he let in were the other three and Yanagi, and even then, he had known them for a while now._

_Maybe he was just getting soft, like Ran and Taiga liked to say?_

_Or maybe it was just her. Yeah, it was definitely her._

_"Sheesh..." He muttered, spinning on his heel to start heading back to the publication office. "Leave it to Yanagi to leave me with the weird ones."_

* * *

"I'm home..."

As the doors of their house creaked open, Monika peered in. It was dark, no response coming from within. She let out a breath she hasn't realized she'd been holding; her mother wasn't home yet, and neither was her father. Late days at the office again, she guessed.

Making her way in and flicking the lights on, she headed upstairs, back to her room.

As soon as she nudged the door open, she was greeted with the comforting, familiar look of her bedroom. One of the few freedoms she had been granted as she grew up was the choice of how she wanted her room to look.

As she grew up, the room grew with her, going from the bright, pastel colors and decorations of her youth to warmer, more comforting colors and fabrics. Under her mother's strict guidance, the pastel pink wall gave way to a white one, but at least she was allowed to decorate as she saw fit, as long as her room didn't become too messy.

Due to her newfound tendency for keeping her room meticulously maintained and all of her belongings organized, she knew by heart where everything was. All of her school materials were situated by her desktop computer. Everything else she did for leisure was on the desk just next to her bed, which was- like the rest of her room- carefully arranged.

Monika closed the door behind her, setting her school bag down next to the desktop computer and moving to turn the machine on. In the meantime she slipped out of her uniform.

As she moved to hang up the navy blazer on the closet, another one came into view- a dark gray blazer, still neatly ironed as if it was to be worn again.

A nostalgic but wry smile came to her lips. It felt just yesterday, she had still been in Katayama, wearing its gray uniform, passing every day with the Literature Club- sharing poems, drinking tea and eating the occasional cupcakes Natsuki would bring to the meetings.

Her eyes flickered to the navy blazer she still held, to the insignia emblazoned at the breast. It wasn't as if she regretted coming to Rokurou. It was far too early for regrets, and besides- she had met and made friends already, or at least she liked to think she made friends.

Her mind wandered to the five people she had met. Yanagi's enthusiasm and dedication to the school publication, Taiga's seemingly undying cheer, Mikami's quiet and polite demeanor, Ran's gentle and laidback way of dealing with things...

_"You sure are somethin', Ribbons."_

...And Sai. From the looks of it, she was going to be dealing with him pretty often, thanks to the school publication. Not that she particularly minded. Despite his rough outward appearance and sharp behavior, he shared the same interest in literature as her, even if he was rather crass about it. Out of the four boys, he had also been the one she had held a longer, one on one conversation with, and he didn't seem to dislike her, at least.

Her eyes landed on her composition notebook. Briefly, she went over and flicked through the pages, her eyes scanning over the poems she had written within- both from her time at the Literature Club and a few others she had written over the school break. She could easily just turn in one of them to Sai tomorrow; she could even just bring the entire notebook and show it to him like some sort of portfolio.

She pursed her lips, brow furrowing as she turned to a blank page in the notebook.

No. She was going to write something new and submit it properly. He might not have given her any prompts, but she had been good at identifying her clubmates' writing styles. She could probably figure out what kind of writing would impress him the most as long as she got a hold of a few of his own written works.

Fortunately, she had multiple samples of those in the form of Anthem's Literary section. Unfortunately, she had forgotten to get her own copy.

It wasn't anything she couldn't just ask Yanagi for. In other scenarios, she could even just ask to borrow Yuri's copy. But it would delay her writing until tomorrow- at least Sai gave her the whole week to write.

She smiled and nodded to herself, plucking out a dog-eared notebook from her school bag. She made a few quick marks on her to-do list for tomorrow.

_"Get a copy of Anthem tomorrow. _

_Write a contribution for the Literary section."_

Satisfied, she shut the notebook and stretched, walking over to her desktop. There wasn't much left to do, so she figured she could hop into their group chatroom for a little and catch up with the other three.

When she logged on, she could see the room already blowing up with notifications. She giggled a little as Sayori immediately greeted her.

_"monika's finally online! X3"_

_"monika! help me explain what the idea of a __**favorite **__dessert is to sayori!" _She could practically hear Natsuki through the screen.

She stifled a chuckle and typed up a reply. _"What's the problem?"_

_"sayori can't pick a favorite dessert."_

_"i like all of them, nat, don't be mean about it! D:"_

_"That kind of eliminates the point of having a favorite dessert, though, Sayori..."_

Yuri finally joined the fray. Monika smiled a little. Even in their group chat, the purple-haired girl seemed to have trouble keeping up with their two, much more fast-paced friends.

She typed again.

_"Why don't we start with enumerating what you do or don't like in certain desserts, like ice cream?"_

_"ummmm i guess it can be too cold?"_

_"that eliminates the point of ice cream, sayori!"_

The rest of the night was spent chatting among each other, relieving some of Monika's worries, even just a little.

No matter what, it seemed like they would always stay the same.

* * *

**Author's Note: Chapter 3 down! Heavily dialogue driven again, kind of like Chapter 1. I'll start showing more action in the coming chapters, but for now please bear with me!**

**That being said, please feel free to leave a review if you enjoy the story so far, and thank you for supporting the continued writing of _Opposing Perspectives!_**


	5. 4 - Temperance

**Opposing Perspectives Chapter 4 – Temperance**

**(Disclaimer: I do not own Doki Doki Literature Club or any of its characters. The OCs featured here, however, are mine.)**

* * *

The night passed easy- and soon enough, it was morning again.

Rokurou's campus was as busy as it had been yesterday. As Monika passed through the corridors, politely greeting any teacher that came by, she found herself idly wondering if the school was always this bustling. Maybe when the first few weeks of school were over; she would start seeing more and more absences.

Upon entering 2C's classroom, she found only a few students within- the most noticeable being Mikami, whose school supplies were scattered about on his desk, half in an untidy mess and the other half neatly arranged into rows and piles. The bespectacled student himself was busy inspecting them, brow furrowed and eyes narrowed behind the black rims of his glasses.

"Suidobashi-kun," Monika smiled as she approached, deciding to greet him. "Good morning."

"Ah-" Mikami looked up from his strange arrangement, glasses slipping somewhat. He reached up reflexively and adjusted them. "-G-Good morning."

"What are you up to?" The brunette peered over at the odd sight on his desk.

"I'm just sorting through my supplies, I guess." Mikami explained, turning back to his work. "My parents insist on getting new school supplies for every new school year. I don't want my old stuff to go to waste, but I don't want to hoard them, so..." He paused, scribbling down a random line with a blue pen. Seeing that the ink was fading, he sighed and placed it in front of him again- into a third pile Monika hadn't noticed at first.

"Whatever still works in my old supplies," He continued, "I give away. To people asking for pens, pencils, anything like that."

"That's pretty generous of you, Suidobashi-kun." The brunette remarked, though she supposed Mikami did look like that kind of classmate; the one who everyone liked asking for spare pens and papers from.

"Maybe," Mikami chuckled sheepishly, "but I mostly do it to get some of the more persistent ones off my back."

"Do you do the same for the others?" At her question, Mikami tilted his head.

"Others?"

"Karasu-kun, I mean. Hoshizora-kun and Fujimura-kun as well."

"Ah, them?" Mikami laughed. "No. They get the new stuff. Mostly because Ran insists and trust me, you don't want to let Taiga down. That guy's sad face and behavior when he's down is impossible to deal with."

"I'll make sure to always keep him in a good mood, then." Monika giggled, although she found it hard to visualize the energetic, blue-haired boy looking...well, _blue. _

Mikami nodded with a sheepish grin. "That's for the best. Though, I don't doubt you and the others will be able to do that. He's a simple guy. The simplest out of all of us, I'd reckon."

"The simplest? So you three are harder to please?" Monika teased, stifling a laugh at the flush that came over the bespectacled student's face.

"N-No, it's not that! I'm, uh...ugh, how do I say this?" Mikami trailed off, scratching the back of his head and averting his gaze. "It's just...I guess Taiga is very... straightforward? I mean, I try to be, too, but I guess I just find it hard to be as carefree as him."

His smile turned wry for a split second. "With my grades, and all..."

As soon as Monika had spotted the odd expression, it was gone. Mikami straightened up in his seat, continuing to pick through his ever growing pile of pens and papers. She decided not to pry- it didn't seem like a comfortable topic for Mikami.

"What about the other two?" She asked. "Fujimura-kun and Karasu-kun."

"Well..." Mikami paused momentarily, as if choosing his words carefully. "Our old art teacher used to say that there's a certain...spectrum, to artists. Either you're extremely eccentric, or you're extremely temperamental."

The classroom doors slid open. Both of them looked over to see some of the other students starting to file in.

"Well, all I can say is that Ran's definitely the eccentric one." Mikami explained quickly. "As for Sai, I'm sure you can figure it out."

Monika gave a small nod, flashing him a polite smile. "Thank you, Suidobashi-kun."

"No problem." He grinned back. "Oh, and...if you know anyone who might need some spare school supplies, feel free to mention me to them."

The brunette giggled, a few faces coming to mind. "Well, I might know a few. I'll be sure to tell them."

"That's all I need." Mikami laughed. "Well then, class is almost about to start and I have the rest of this mess to sort out, so..."

"I got it." Monika stepped away from his desk, waving a little. "Talk to you later then, Suidobashi-kun!"

He gave her a small nod, smiled, and returned to his work. As Monika left, she heard him exclaim to himself.

"Working ones on the right, so...wait, was it the left side? Aw, come on, I lost track!"

* * *

_Riiiiiing!_

Morning classes passed in a flash. Soon enough, Monika was watching the teacher leave out the door, followed only by Yanagi, who seemed to be trying to clarify something about the lesson.

She stretched in her seat, taking a cursory glance around the room again. Her eyes ultimately land on Natsuki, who was standing just near the doorway. A coin purse was in her hand, and from the way her lips stretched into a frown and her brows knotted together, she didn't exactly like what she was seeing.

"Are you coming along to the cafeteria, Nat?" Sayori piped up, coin purse already in hand. The petite girl shakes her head, sighing heavily.

"I can't. My pen finally ran out of ink in English class. I'm gonna have to get some paper too if I want to be taking any more notes for the rest of the year."

"If it helps, most of the subject material can also be found in the textbooks," Yuri offered.

"Hmph..." Natsuki folded her arms over her chest, sighing. "You think I managed to buy all of the textbooks?"

"Maybe we can share!" Sayori offered, but the petite girl shook her head.

Monika could understand Natsuki's unwillingness to share textbooks, to a degree- sharing only went so far. Soon they would have to answer activities in the textbook. Even if Sayori would be okay with it, the teacher certainly wouldn't for fear of students copying answers from one another.

And then, an idea came to mind.

"Well, maybe you can talk to Suidobashi-kun after lunch then, Natsuki." The brunette approached, smiling gently.

"Mikami?" Natsuki raised an eyebrow.

"I hear he has some spare supplies he's been meaning to give away," Monika continued. "I'm sure he'd be willing to lend you some."

"Well..." Though the petite girl still seemed somewhat opposed to the idea of having to ask a new classmate for supplies this early in the school year, she at least seemed to consider it. And besides—it seemed like a win-win situation.

"Fine..."

"Then that means you're gonna eat with us, right, Nat?" Sayori chirped, a hopeful look on her face- similar to that of a puppy hoping for a treat, almost.

Natsuki's shoulders fell a little, and she gave a resigned sigh. "Yeah, yeah, I guess I am." She flashed a weak grin. "I'm just gonna get something cheap, though. In case the whole thing with Mikami doesn't work out."

"I think it's your company that matters to Sayori, at least." Yuri remarked, glancing over to the bubbly girl with a small smile. "Isn't that right?"

"Yeah!" Sayori nods cheerfully, her expression back to its usual mirth.

"Well, best to get going before the lines at the cafeteria get too long." Monika reminded. Sayori immediately perked up, looking at the clock.

"Ah! That's right! Come on, Nat!"

"Ack-! Wait, Sayori!"

Sayori grabbed the other girl's hand, tugging her along as she made a dash down the hallway. Monika held back a giggle as Natsuki's protests faded, disappearing down the corridor.

"Do you think she's actually going to ask?" Yuri blurted out, fiddling somewhat with her hair. The brunette gave a casual shrug in response—there wasn't really any way of telling with Natsuki.

"I'm sure she will," Monika reassured her, nevertheless. It seemed to work—a small smile played on Yuri's face. Weak as it might be, it was still a smile.

"I'm glad you think so...at least Natsuki's being a lot more social." Yuri sighed softly, picking up the book sitting on her desk. As Monika's gaze shifted to the table next to Yuri's, she spotted a notebook lying open on it—the pages contained notes for the class, but were overwhelmed by the vast amount of doodles; if they could even be called doodles.

The brunette curiously peered at the cover of the notebook.

"_Fujimura"_.

From the looks of it, Ran seemed to be quite the outgoing and friendly kind of person. With him sitting right next to her shiest friend, Monika briefly wondered if he could somehow help her become more social.

Maybe she could ask him later.

"Well," Yuri spoke up, breaking the silence that settled between them. "Shall we go after them?" She motioned to the door.

Monika nodded and smiled. "Yeah, we probably should."

* * *

They had scarcely taken a few steps out of the classroom when they both practically ran into a commotion in the making. A rather large, intimidating student practically stomped down the hallways, teeth grit and hands balled into fists.

Monika barely managed to pull Yuri out of the way of the student, eliciting a surprised squeak from the taller girl. The student, a few steps away from the lockers, let loose an irritated bellow.

"**Karasu!"**

Monika perked up when she heard it. The crowd of confused and intimidated students parted somewhat, letting them both see the large student stomping towards two familiar figures gathered near the lockers.

Aside from Sai, whose expression was already scrunched up in annoyance, Ran stood just nearby. An apologetic smile appeared on his face as he immediately moved to block the other student.

"Hey, Keima," Ran spoke, voice clearly trying to calm the other student. "What brings you here?"

"I'm here," Keima, the other student, snapped, "for my phone."

"Why the hell would I have it?" Sai spoke, his voice deliberately loud—Monika could tell. From their conversation the day prior, he spoke in a low and gruff but ultimately quiet voice when talking normally. "I don't go around stealing phones."

"You were the one closest to it," Keima argued, his brow knotting together in frustration. Sai turned his gaze on the other student, also irritated.

"The hell are you talking about? I'm not even in your class."

"You slipped in and stole it right off my desk! I saw you!" Keima stepped forward, only to be blocked, again, by Ran.

"Now, now," The redhead tried to diffuse the situation. "What did you see, exactly?"

"I saw his hair!"

"That's _it?" _Sai snapped, frustration seemingly starting to bubble up as well. "That's all you saw and you thought it was me? You think I'm the only blond in the school?!"

"Sai," Ran called in warning, blocking the blond from advancing with a hand. He turned back to Keima, frowning.

"I've been with Sai the whole time," He explained, "and we didn't go anywhere near your classroom. Try asking someone else."

Keima scowled, but a quick look around at the growing crowd of students already gathering in the corridor quickly discouraged him from pursuing the issue further. He gritted his teeth.

"Fine."

As he moved to walk away, Sai turned back to his locker. As Ran relaxed somewhat to let Keima through, the large student deliberately shoved his shoulder against the blond's, grumbling.

Sai seemed to pause, for a second. Then, his shoulders bunched, tightening in sudden anger as he slammed the door of his locker shut and whirled around.

"That's it," He growled, hackles raised, "I'll show you, you prick-!"

"Sai!" Ran caught his friend by the arm to keep him from attacking Keima. "Leave it, it's not worth it!"

"Someone's gotta teach him!" The blond snapped. From how he strained against Ran's grip and his tensed body, he almost reminded Monika of a dog. An angry one.

"And get yourself into trouble? This early in the school year?" Ran grunted, steeling his grip. "Come on, man. At least wait it out until he gets into trouble before you do."

This at least seemed to cool the blond's temper somewhat. He sighed, face finally falling back into its usual scowl. "Fine."

Ran released him. The blond pinched the bridge of his nose, cursing under his breath as he let loose a deep breath. "Dammit, I need a drink."

"As long as you don't go after him." Ran mumbled, though his friend had already turned to head for the nearest vending machine—disappearing around the corner. Now left alone in front of the lockers, Monika watched the redhead sigh, shaking his head.

"Uuu..." Yuri seemed a little shaky. "I didn't know he was that aggressive..."

"It was...surprising, yes." Monika frowned a little. There went the chance of trying to talk to him about his writing. If Sai wasn't in a good mood, she'd have to be more careful. Nevertheless, she looked up as Ran approached them, his smile apologetic and sheepish.

"Ah...you two saw that, huh? Sorry." Ran apologized.

"Does...that happen often?" Monika asked, glancing past him to peer at the spot where Sai had been standing just a few minutes prior.

Ran pursed his lips in thought. "Not as often as it used to be?" He flashed another sheepish smile, laughing weakly. "I mean, he hasn't- exploded, for lack of a better term, like that in a while now."

"How long is a while?" Yuri mumbled.

"Half a year." Ran chuckled. "Then again, Keima wasn't around us too often last year, so I guess not a lot of things set him off, ahaha..."

The redhead relaxed somewhat. "Still, I hope this doesn't put you off from talking to him, at least. I swear he's not that angry all the time. There's just something about Keima that annoys the hell out of him, I guess."

Though Yuri still seemed a little skeptical, Monika nodded. Keima had been aggressive, to be fair, although she did think Sai's sudden outburst was rather out of the blue. As if he'd been that pent-up for a long while and needed to take it out before it bothered him further.

Ran's expression grew relaxed at their affirmation. "Well, I'd love to stay and chat a bit longer," He started, smiling jokingly, "but someone's got to make sure Sai doesn't end up overdosing on caffeine."

"Does he really drink that much coffee normally?"

"Unfortunately." Ran grinned. "But hey, as long as he's happy, right?" The redhead shoved both hands in his pockets, tossing a last smile over his shoulder as he turned around. "Well, I'll see you both in class, then."

He waved to them briefly before walking back down the corridor, disappearing around the same corner Sai had.

As he left, the tension lifted. Most of the crowd had dispersed when Keima and Sai left. Monika let out a relieved sigh- at least the situation didn't escalate further. Still, at least she got to see another side to Sai this early.

Her phone buzzed with a message from Sayori, wondering what was taking them so long. She relaxed and turned to Yuri.

"Sayori and Natsuki are wondering where we are," She smiled.

"We'd better get going, too."

* * *

Lunch passed uneventfully. Monika could pick up on bits and pieces of the conversation between other students, talking about the earlier confrontation. Some students seemed threatened by the temper of both parties- some were disappointed an actual fistfight didn't break out. Others just didn't care—as if this was a normal occurrence.

Despite this, they had finished their food quickly, and went back to the classroom a good thirty minutes before the end of lunch.

As the brunette reached the classroom door, she found it opening before she could even do anything—and she found herself coming face to face with a familiar, twintailed girl.

"Oh, Yanagi!" She greeted, smiling politely. "Heading out again?"

Just in time—she wanted to ask Yanagi for that copy of Anthem.

Yanagi smiled back, motioning to a folder tucked under her arm. "Yeah. New school year and all, so I've been trying to do more around the school, you know?"

"My, that's pretty generous of you, Yanagi." Monika remarked.

"Is it?" Yanagi offered a weak grin. "Truth be told, my math grade sucked last year so I've been trying to help out Ms. Yomiyama. You know—get some of those brownie points up." The twintailed girl offered her a conspiratorial grin. "Just don't let her know that."

"Ah, I see," She offered a small smile back. "You have my word, then."

"Good!" Yanagi beamed, then checked the clock. "Anyway, I have to get going soon, so is there anything you wanted to ask in particular?"

"Oh. I was wondering if you had any spare copies of Anthem on hand." Monika clasped her hands behind her back. "I would drop by the office after class, but I have some errands to run today."

"Oh, no need to drop by." Yanagi smiled and dug through her folder, pulling out a copy of the school magazine and offering it to the brunette. "Here- I was planning to read it while I was helping out at the faculty, but I can always get myself another one. Perks of being the editor in chief," She grinned and winked.

Monika thumbed through a few of the pages, humming to herself. Gingerly shutting the copy, she smiled at Yanagi. "Thanks, Yanagi. I've been meaning to give it a more in-depth read."

Yanagi grinned. "Hey, whatever it takes to get some feedback, right? Anyway, I'm going now. I'd better catch up with Ms. Yomiyama before she enters her next class."

"Alright. I'll see you in class, then?"

"Yeah. See you in Math." Yanagi waved before taking off down the hallway, brisk walking past the crowd before dropping into a full sprint once she was clear of the students.

In the meantime, Monika made her way inside the classroom. There were only a few groups of students scattered around the small classroom—though she figured it was due to their class's small population, in the first place.

From the corner of her eye, she noticed Natsuki making her way over to where Mikami was poring through his notes. The brunette smiled to herself. At least Natsuki made the effort.

Making her way back to her desk, she caught a look over at the table just a desk away from hers—where Sai was curled over, head atop his folded arms. His eyes were closed, a can of coffee stuck just a few inches away from his elbow.

Monika suppressed a giggle. The image made for a bit of an oxymoron.

Nevertheless, remembering his outburst, she decided against waking him up and just sat back down at her desk, opening up the copy.

From the looks of it, Anthem was definitely a student-made work. It certainly wasn't as professional as actual magazines, but for the school, it sufficed. She had always imagined school newspapers and publications to be formal, but due to Anthem's magazine format, it was clear that the contributors were allowed to be casual with their writing.

As she finished reading an article written by Yanagi, she flipped the page and came face to face with a grayish page. It was a stark contrast to the rest of Anthem's colorful and vibrant aesthetic, though she supposed it did have its own, minimalistic appeal.

She glanced up to the header. She had reached the Literary Section.

At first, it was a little hard to discern Sai's writing style- though, somewhat like Natsuki, she had to note his preference for simple, straightforward words.

What stuck out to her, though, was the variations between his works. Some of his short stories were straightforward and quick, as if they were meant to be a short read and nothing more. The others, however, paid more careful attention to detail- the environment, the conversations, the feelings of the main characters.

_"Almost as if he really did intend on writing that one first, before rushing through the others..."_

She took a moment to look up from the magazine, glancing over to the sleeping male. She pursed her lips in thought as she observed him.

In a way, the writing did at least seem like him. Straight to the point, a little crass, but ultimately passionate when it came to things he felt strongly about. Even if the passion she got from him was his earlier outburst.

She felt her train of thought cut off when Sai's eyes blinked open. He stared directly at her; expression unreadable.

Monika felt a pang of embarrassment, though she fought to keep it off her face. Had she been caught staring?

She tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear, and smiled politely. "Is something the matter, Karasu-kun?"

His brow furrowed in mild suspicion. "You."

"Eh?" She paused. Had she gotten on his nerves already? "I apologize if I made you uncomfortable in any way..."

She trailed off a little as Sai raised his head, running a hand through his hair.

"Forget it. It ain't a big deal." He yawned, stretching a little and reaching for his can of coffee. As he took a sip, he glanced back at the brunette- specifically, at the magazine still in her hands.

"So, you've read it, huh?"

"Yeah..." Monika looked back to the story she had been reading, something about a mystery taking place at a school. More specifically, at Rokurou. She smiled over at him.

"You wrote a mystery story about the school?"

"Well, I didn't see why not," Sai hummed, idly tapping his fingers on his desk. "I figured it's interesting enough to write about."

This was going to take some more prying. Monika skimmed the text again.

"So, are the rumors in the story actually rumors in Rokurou?"

"Yeah." Sai responded, mulling something over in his head. "The 4th floor window, and the nighttime bathrooms, especially. Though, they say every school in the city has their own fair share of ghost stories."

"Are any of them actually...you know?"

Sai paused. "I never really tried to find out here in Rokurou." He rest his head atop his palm, thoughtful. "Maybe one day, I'll ask the others if they want to go ghost hunting. Knowing Ran, he'll bring it up at some point."

"The story's longer than the others in the section, though," Monika remarked, flipping through the pages. "Why is that?"

"It's mostly out of formality," Sai's voice was a little dry. "Three long stories, three short ones. At least, that's how I prefer to do it."

"Ah, but—some of these seem more...elaborate, than the others." Monika looked over at him. "I'm not trying to say anything about your work ethic, Karasu-kun, but am I right to assume it shows which stories you preferred to work on?"

The man raised a brow at that, surprise lifting his expression. "Good observation. You'd be right."

The impressed tone disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. "I write a lot depending on my interest in it—on my muse, I guess. I did get inspiration for the short stories there," He waved a hand at the magazine, "but it was mostly just a short burst. Like, '_I want to write about a guy texting an imaginary girlfriend'_, which I never pursued other than that short story. The longer ones, on the other hand, I was more invested in."

"Ahaha~ Guess I got my assumption of your writing style right." Monika giggled.

"Come on, Ribbons, you said you weren't going to assume anything about it." Sai huffed, rolling his eyes—though his tone was light.

"I said I wasn't going to assume anything about your work ethic, not your writing style," She teased.

"Geez...I'll let that slip." Sai folded his arms over his chest.

"It's not that bad, is it? I might be able to write something more fitting to your writing style if I find out how it's like," Monika spoke, her own tone encouraging.

"I guess so, but..." The blond pursed his lips in thought. "You really don't need to match mine. I mean, it'd be good for the audience to have a new writer to look forward to."

"That makes sense," The brunette hummed a little. "But it'll be interesting, you know? Trying to write in a different style."

Sai's shoulders hunched a little, but he finally gave a resigned sigh. "If you say so, Ribbons. Maybe I'll try it at some point."

Monika chuckled, propping her own head up on a palm.

"There we go~ See, we're working together already."

Sai snorted, glancing away—though she could see the faint smile that tugged at the corner of his lips.

"Whatever you say, Ribbons."

* * *

**Author's Note: I finally finished Chapter 4! Whew. Between writing this, finals, and gathering up my school requirements, this was a pretty tough one to put out. I apologize for the delay in the update, but at least it's here now, right?**

**Anyway, I'm having fun so far writing the character interactions. My break should be coming up soon, so I might have more time writing Chapter 5. If all goes well, my updates might become a bit more frequent. I'll still have to see how it goes, though, so stay tuned.**

**That being said, if you like the story so far, feel free to leave a review, and thank you for supporting the continued writing of _Opposing Perspectives!_**


	6. 5 - Con Crema

**Opposing Perspectives Chapter 5 – Con Crema**

**(Disclaimer: I do not own Doki Doki Literature Club or any of its characters. The OCs featured here, however, are mine.)**

* * *

Before Monika could take in the amusement her blond classmate showed at her little comment, the door swung open—signaling the end of small talk and the start of Math class. She could practically feel the wave of defeat that rolled through the class, as if everyone was holding in a groan of frustration.

Sai snapped his gaze away, the faint smile on his face immediately vanishing. Didn't seem like he was a fan of it, either.

Monika dutifully closed up the copy of Anthem, tucking it into the compartment just under her desk. She'd just have to finish reading after class.

During the course of the class, in between listening to the teacher explain more about the topic and taking down notes, the brunette found herself glancing over to what the others were doing.

Sayori barely looked like she was listening, much less taking notes. At the very least, Yuri and Natsuki were taking down notes…though the latter's brow was furrowed in frustration.

"_Well, at least she managed to get some supplies…"_

"…does anyone want to answer the equation on the board?"

A few hands shot up- one of them being Mikami's, and another being Yanagi's. Monika glanced down at the unfinished equation she'd been scribbling on a spare corner of her notebook, internally scolding herself for getting distracted.

"Ishikawa-san, go ahead." The teacher offered the chalk over to the brunette's seatmate. Yanagi stood to answer, her scratch paper in the other hand as she approached the board.

"Hoshizora-kun, is there anything you want to add to the discussion?" The teacher called out, causing a certain, blue-haired boy in the classroom to freeze a little.

Taiga laughed sheepishly. "U-Uh…no, ma'am. I was just asking about something."

"Is it about the lesson?"

"I guess it is…?" Taiga gave a weak, almost apologetic smile.

The teacher eyed him carefully, before shaking her head with a soft sigh. "If you have any questions about the lesson, raise your hand and ask me. Okay?"

"Y-Yes, ma'am…" Taiga almost seemed to sink into his chair, grinning weakly at the student he had been talking with.

"Oh, and Ishida-san, was it?" The teacher called out again. This time, Monika had to glance over as Yuri all but froze in her seat.

"Y-Yes…?"

"Could you wake Fujimura-kun up?"

True enough, Ran's head was already down, buried in his folded arms. A pencil was still loosely gripped in one of his hands. A brief look of relief crossed Yuri's face as she gingerly reached out and lightly shook the redhead by the shoulder in a weak attempt to wake him.

Monika heard a faint snort to her right—Sai was barely hiding a smile. He turned away from the sight of his sleeping friend with a quiet chuckle. "That's a new record. Almost half the class period."

She couldn't help but feel a twinge of amusement, herself.

"Does this happen often?" She tried to hide the laughter in her tone, although the blond barely disguised his.

"Yeah. Ran sucks at this subject. I'm pretty sure he'll only understand it if a fellow student tutors him or if the lesson's given to him in a nutshell." Sai snickered.

"I hope his grade's not suffering too much," Monika remarked, an idea starting to brew. _"Maybe..."_

"It's not, if you're that concerned about it, Ribbons." Sai raised an eyebrow. "Kami is usually more than happy to tutor people. Usually, anyway."

Before she could ask any more questions, the teacher's voice cut in. "Correct, Ishikawa-san. You may sit down."

Yanagi walked back to her seat, a look of relief on her face. As she settled into her chair, she cast a quick glance at her seatmates.

"Did you guys get it?" She asked, glancing between Monika and Sai.

"I did," Monika affirmed, already moving to finish answering the question in her own notebook—even if Yanagi's answer was already on the board, she still wanted to check if she was understanding the lesson correctly, just in case.

"Don't ask me, ask the rest of the class," Sai spoke wryly, grimacing.

As if on cue, the teacher spun around briefly on her heel to take a quick look at the class. "Did you get the lesson, class?"

A helpful voice rang out from somewhere near the back—she recognized it as Sayori. "Um, Sensei, can you explain it again-"

"Yes? Good. Now, moving on..."

Monika could feel another wave of defeat roll through the class, and this time, someone _did _groan. Yanagi flashed her a sheepish grin, and Sai's head dropped to his desk with a resounding _thunk_ against his still open notebook.

The brunette smiled. Her new class was already seeming a lot more close-knit than her previous one at Katayama—there was that much, at least.

* * *

Once the final bell rang, the entire class seemed to stir back into action—as if awakening from a deep, fatigued sleep. While Monika was packing her things, she spotted the hint of black twintails just in the corner of her vision.

She smiled, glancing up at a smiling Yanagi, now leaning over her desk a little. "I highly doubt you're that interested in seeing me getting ready to head home, Yanagi."

Yanagi pretended to ponder it, an index finger lightly resting on her chin. "Hmm, I don't know. I heard somewhere you can figure out someone's priorities and character from how they pack up to leave for the day." She flashed the brunette a teasing grin, showing that she was only joking.

"Joking aside, though," Monika tilted her head a little. "Is there anything you wanted?"

"I was just wondering if you were free," Yanagi rocked back and forth on her heels, clasping her hands behind her back. "There's this really good diner we frequent a lot called Con Crema. I wanted to see if you wanted to come along? It'll be my treat."

Monika mulled it over a little, throwing a glance to the back of the class. She had planned on heading back home with the rest of her club, but...

"Is it okay if I ask the others along, too?" She asked, motioning over to the other three. Yanagi looked over, smiled, and nodded.

"Sure! It's all good. It could be kind of a little welcoming party," Yanagi grinned, "even if I'm the only one doing the welcoming."

"Alright, let me just ask them really quick, then." Monika stood, her eyes already landing on Sayori, who was happily chatting away with a few of their classmates.

"I'll wait by the door then~" Yanagi skipped out while the brunette made a beeline for her bubbly friend—her key player in convincing Yuri and Natsuki to come along...

* * *

True to Yanagi's word, Con Crema wasn't too far from Rokurou's campus. In fact, it was directly across the street from the academy. Monika followed the twintailed girl as she pushed open the glass doors, a bell chiming to signal their arrival, with the other three in tow.

Sayori really was more cunning than her clumsiness and ditzy attitude let on. Convincing didn't take too long—Sayori would never turn down a snack, Natsuki would have trouble turning down _free _food, despite her pride, and Yuri had problems speaking out against the majority. Monika was, once again, reminded of why the bubbly girl had landed the Vice President role.

The diner wasn't too small, but it was bustling with students from Rokurou and a few other customers dropping in for a quick drink and snack. From the checkered floors, to the red chairs and booths, and the vintage posters pasted up on the bright walls, Con Crema appeared—at least to her—like a diner right out of the 50's.

A quick moving waiter quickly passed Yanagi a menu as all five of them settled into a fairly inconspicuous booth. As they sat down, the twintailed girl slid the menu over to them.

"Order whatever you want, it's my treat!"

"I-I hope we're not intruding..." Yuri sheepishly responded, peering over at the menu—which Sayori was almost immediately poring over, blue eyes alight with excitement.

"Not at all," Yanagi grinned. "I mean, it's been so long since we got new students in the class. I'd hate for you guys to feel unwelcome."

"Ooh, Nat, look! They have kitty cupcakes here, too!" Sayori spoke in a rush, excitedly pointing to the image on the menu. Monika chuckled a bit as the petite girl rolled her eyes, pouting a little.

"Mine are better."

"Come now, Natsuki. Can't knock it until you try it, right?" The brunette chipped in, stifling a small giggle when Natsuki seemed to bunch up further.

"Ugh...f-fine, let's get that..."

They quickly placed their orders, the waiter almost immediately rushing away the moment he was finished scribbling in his notepad. While waiting, Yanagi turned her attention back to them.

"So, how are you guys enjoying Rokurou so far?"

"It's been super fun, so far!" Sayori excitedly piped up. "Everyone's been so friendly~"

"The lack of elevator sucks, though," Natsuki remarked, folding her arms over her chest.

"Yeah, we lament about that a lot, too." Yanagi chuckled, seemingly unfazed by Natsuki's remark. "Still, I guess the building only goes for four floors not counting the rooftop, so they didn't think it was a necessity."

"The lack of elevators means the lack of long elevator lines, too." Monika chuckled. "I'm sure you don't miss _those_, Natsuki."

"Point taken." The petite girl grumbled.

"That being said, I'm glad you find us friendly, so far." Yanagi flashed them a genuine smile. "Rokurou might not be the most premier school on the block, but we try. Hence the campus expansion." She joked.

"Well, it's certainly a different experience from Katayama." Monika remarked, folding her hands neatly atop the table.

"I was pretty curious about that, actually. How was it like back in Katayama, anyway-?" Yanagi paused, quickly waving her hands. "Ah, only if you're comfortable with talking about it, though!"

The memory of Katayama brought about an odd, mixed feeling. There was a twinge of regret, with the shutdown and all—but at the same time, nostalgia set in.

"Well..." To her surprise, Natsuki spoke up. She watched the petite girl wringing her hands just under the table. "For one, we had a smaller campus. I'm pretty sure all the budget went into our building."

"We had a grand total of two buildings." Sayori chimed in, smiling. "One for the elementary and middle schools, and the high school building.'

"It wasn't _just _for high school students..." Yuri mumbled—though Yanagi leaned in to hear what she was saying. "Almost everything else was placed into the high school building. The science labs, library, even the gym."

"Well, it did have 12 floors compared to the main building's 4, so I think it's only fair." Monika laughed a little.

"I see..." Yanagi rest her chin atop her palm, thoughtful. "Before I enrolled into Rokurou, I actually took the entrance exams for Katayama, too. I only saw one room though, and I think it was in the smaller building."

"What did the room look like?" Monika hummed, watching as Yanagi tried to recall it.

"Coral colored walls. Small, too—I'd reckon around 25 chairs in a tiny room." The twintailed girl giggled a bit. "It had its...innocent charm, though."

"Oh, that's my old elementary classroom! In 4th grade!" Sayori beamed, turning to Natsuki. "Remember that, Nat?"

"4B's classroom, yeah." A slight smile came to Natsuki's lips. "You'd simultaneously be the luckiest, and unluckiest student in the room if you were seated right in front of the air conditioner."

"Since all the windows were blocked off by shelves and whatnot, we also all would simultaneously panic when the power goes out!" Sayori recalled, laughing. "It was really scary..."

"And the door would randomly lock itself, too," Natsuki groaned. "Ugh, I remember when one of the girls managed to convince the entire class that our classroom was haunted because of that door."

"Was it, though?" Yanagi asked, amusement lacing her tone.

"No!" Natsuki snickered. "It was just a faulty door lock! Sayori got so freaked out, too!"

"Yeah, you laugh now, Nat, but that was scary back then..." Sayori shivered.

While their conversation carried on, the sound of the bell chiming caused Monika to instinctively glance up, eyes drawn towards the door—and her eyebrows raised a bit in surprise as she spotted the group walking in.

"Oh," She heard Yanagi giggle beside her. "Looks like the fun's rolled in~"

* * *

"Ah, good old Con Crema. Rokurou's _Ol' Reliable_." Ran chuckled as he pushed open the glass doors. Beside him, Taiga laughed.

"Hey, Con Crema's not bad." Taiga grinned. "Big slices for cheap prices!"

"That'd be Fratelli's Pizza Shack, Taiga." Sai snickered. "See, you're forgetting your restaurants already."

"A-Ahaha...same thing, Boss." Taiga chuckled sheepishly. "Y'know what I mean."

"Well, I'm not saying Con Crema's bad," Ran stretched, leisurely making his way to a corner booth. "Just thought we'd be trying something different, today."

"Can't be helped. Someone didn't know the grand opening date for Books and Beans had been moved." Sai chuckled, shooting their last member, who had remained quiet the entire time, a look.

"Shut it," Mikami groaned, practically shoving his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "I didn't see the announcement, okay?"

"Great Genius Suidobashi Mikami, missing an announcement." Taiga grinned teasingly. "Weren't you religiously following their social media pages, though?"

"Come on, Taiga, you know how it is. Koizumi was hogging the Wi-Fi-"

"Your kid sister has as much right to it as you do, Kami," Sai clapped the bespectacled man on the shoulder. "And vice versa. Assert dominance." He pulled away, laughing, as Mikami reached to half-heartedly brush his hand away.

"Couldn't check the grand opening announcement, but managed to post about the OVA plans for Parfait Girls and the upcoming third season of Blazing Red." Ran grinned. "Sure, Kami."

"We're your friends, man, you can tell us whatever!" Taiga laughed as the four settled into their corner booth. Mikami shot him a weak glare and sank into the seat, sighing heavily.

"Deal's a deal. Your drinks are all on me." He conceded, earning a delighted cheer from his three friends.

While the others perused the menu, Sai glanced up for a moment from the table, allowing himself to space out. Truthfully, he didn't have much of an appetite. The encounter with Keima left a bad taste in his mouth, a bitter aggression he hadn't really gotten around to dealing with.

Not that he blamed Ran for stopping him. His best friend was just trying to keep him from getting into trouble, after all, and it was a bad move to attack Keima out of nowhere. Just the knowledge of that intensified the bitterness—it was a lose-lose situation and it irritated him more than it should have.

If there was any positive about the day, though, it was that he'd finally gotten some actual feedback. Not random praise, not a dismissal, just...actual comments about his writing. The thought of it made him smile a little. He'd rarely gotten that outside of a few friends on Anthem's team—and as much as he loved hanging around with Ran, Taiga and Mikami, they weren't exactly the biggest readers on the planet.

Maybe that was why he found himself surprised at the glimpse of familiar, coral brown hair and a _big white ribbon _at the table just a few booths away from them.

"_Ribbons?"_

"Boss!" Taiga called out, snapping him out of his thoughts. Sai tore his gaze away, looking quickly back to his blue-haired friend.

"Hm?"

"We were going to ask what you wanted." Mikami furrowed his brows. "You okay? You've been spacing out."

"Spacing out?" Sai snorted a bit, chuckling. "I'll have you know, I paid attention to Yomiyama's class today."

"Well, that explains why you're spacing out _now_." Ran joked.

"Yeah, that's as good an explanation as any." Sai stretched. "That being said, I'm fine with the usual, Kami."

"Large iced coffee again?" Mikami's voice was laced with disbelief. "How many cans of coffee have you already burned through today?"

"Two. I try to pace myself." Sai spoke nonchalantly.

"You know it's something when we're talking about your caffeine dependence like a drinking problem." Mikami scolded lightly, shaking his head but noting it down in his phone anyway.

"You know me. I can't function unless my heart's threatening to tear out of my chest at all times." The blond chuckled.

"What about you, Taiga?" Mikami turned his gaze on Taiga. "What's your order?"

"Oh, uh..." Taiga scanned the menu quickly. "I'll just have a Double Slam burger with everything, a soda with chocolate ice cream, and fully loaded fries."

A brief silence settled over the group.

"Please tell me those fully loaded fries are for the table." Ran spoke, finally, his tone disbelieving.

"I mean, I was gonna plan on eating them myself, but..." Taiga grinned sheepishly.

"At least give us some fries!" Sai chuckled. "What kind of friend hogs all the fries to himself?"

"Fully loaded fries for the table, then," Mikami chuckled weakly. "Taiga, I hope you're ready to shell out extra for your food."

"I don't mind. If I did, I wouldn't be ordering it." Taiga relaxed, leaning back in his seat. "And besides, I'm justified in taking cheat days, right?"

"Taiga, it's not even sports season yet." Sai pointed out, brows knotting together.

"It may as well be," The blue-haired player protested. "Tryouts are coming soon for the end-of-the-year sports meet!"

"Early year tryouts for an end of the year competition." Mikami chuckled wryly. "Rokurou's back at it again with their bias towards sports."

"Who knows? It might be fun this year." Taiga glanced around the table. "Come on, aren't you guys interested in trying out for anything? Ran, you used to play baseball, right?"

"With Moriyama as captain? You kidding?" The redhead laughed, shaking his head. "Not a chance in hell."

"Besides, he'd have to shave off his hair." Sai motioned to Ran's long hair. "Above the collar, no less."

"Yeah. I spent too long growing this out." Ran flashed Taiga a teasing grin. "Sorry, Taiga."

"Aw, that's a shame." Taiga sighed, turning his attention to the others. "What about you, Kami? This year might be a good one to start trying out some more sports."

"I'm not signing up for anything—I suck at sports, remember?" Mikami shook his head. "I'll probably just go for the mandatory attendance."

"You always go if it concerns your attendance, Kami." Ran chuckled.

"Guess there's no changing your mind." Taiga seemed to pout, but quickly shook it off. "What about you, Boss?"

The blond crossed his arms behind his head, mulling it over. "I'm not sure. I've got my hands full with the publication, already. Anthem's got some big plans for this year. That, and my section just got a new contributor recently."

Ran whistled. "This early, huh? So, who is it?"

Sai glanced over at the girls' table. Ran followed his gaze, and nodded.

"One of the new girls, huh?" Receiving a small nod in reply, the redhead smiled as Sai leaned back in his seat again, eyes closing.

"How long do you think it'll last?"

To his surprise, his best friend thinned his lips in thought, eyes opening again—seemingly thoughtful.

"A while, I'd hope."

"Oh?" Ran raised an eyebrow.

Sai offered a nonchalant shrug, though his expression said otherwise—his gaze was directed somewhere else, as if he were a thousand miles away from them.

"Got a good feeling about this one, is all."

* * *

"So, Rokurou's students really do frequent this place, huh?" Monika mused, glancing briefly over her shoulder at the group that had just settled into a corner booth. 2C might have been more tight-knit than she initially thought.

"You'd be surprised." Yanagi laughed. "Con Crema's practically a part of Rokurou at this point. It's been around since I was in elementary."

"It's been around that long?" Yuri asked, glancing around the area.

"Yeah." Yanagi grinned. "They say you aren't a real Rokurou student unless you've been here at least once. Kind of tradition at this point."

"How did it root itself into Rokurou's student life that deeply?" Monika tilted her head quizzically. Cozy and friendly as the atmosphere of Con Crema was, there didn't seem to be anything too special about the diner. It was at least a step up from the few fast food establishments around Katayama.

"Well, it's very...student friendly, for such a themed place with a large menu." The twintailed girl mulled it over. "By student friendly, of course, I mean it's not only close to the campus, but its prices are forgiving. In turn, it gets a ton of business from students of the academy."

The girl paused. "Though, I'm not pursuing business or anything, so take my words with a grain of salt."

"That makes sense..."

Yuri's weak words gave Yanagi pause. The twintailed girl passed a curious glance over the purple-haired bookworm, humming a little under her breath.

"Well," Yanagi smiled reassuringly. "There are quieter places than Con Crema, if this place isn't quite your style. There's a new café opening up just a couple of blocks from here called Books and Beans. Trust me, despite the cheesy name, it's shaping up to be a good place for studying and reading so far."

She grinned sheepishly. "Though, I'm not sure if it's opening today or next week."

"Next week, Friday." A voice cut in, making all five at the table glance up. Taiga was passing by their table, carrying a fry basket in his hands—though the only way they could tell that it was a fry basket were the bits and pieces of crinkle cut fries underneath a massive pile of ground beef, melted cheddar cheese, ranch and what they figured might have been tomatoes and onions; though, like the fries, it was hard to tell under the toppings.

"It was supposed to be today, but the owner told Kami and I that they moved it to next week because of a mix-up with the furniture, or something." Taiga continued, smiling sheepishly.

"Oh, hi, Taiga!" Sayori waved cheerfully. "I didn't know you guys were here, too!"

"Well, we were planning on checking out Books and Beans, but Kami missed the announcement." He grinned, then turned to Yanagi. "I see you've already introduced Fujiwara-san to Con Crema~"

"Eh, you know me." Yanagi chuckled. "Stickler for tradition." She peered past him a little. "It isn't just you two and Suidobashi-kun here?"

"Huh? Oh, no." Taiga shook his head. "Boss and Ran are here too. Kami owes us all a free drink." He laughed, before glancing around the room. "So, I'd love to stay and chat a bit longer, but the guys demand more cheese on this." He joked, motioning to the fry basket in his hands.

"You can get free cheese?" Sayori's eyes lit up. Seeing the glint in her eye, Taiga gave a lazy grin.

"And ranch, yeah."

"I'm coming along!" Sayori sprang up, taking the fry basket with her. In her rushed attempt to get out of the chair, though, her foot caught on the table, sending her stumbling forward.

"Uwa-!"

"Careful!" Taiga's hand snapped out, quickly catching her around the waist and steadying her. The clatter of the chair scraping across the floor caught the attention of a few other patrons—but thankfully enough, the fries weren't compromised.

Sayori's face flushed briefly, before she quickly reoriented herself with a sheepish giggle. "Sorry..."

"It's alright. I mean, who wouldn't go gaga over free cheese, right?" Taiga grinned, throwing in a quick wink.

Somewhere in the diner, a slow clapping started. Looking over, Monika quickly found the source—there, sitting at the corner booth, Sai was slow clapping. Ran and Mikami quickly joined; and the applause spread to the few groups of Rokurou students in the diner, mixed with bits of cheering.

"That's our Tiger!" A large, well-built student with a pompadour boomed, laughing heartily. From the looks of him, along with the rest of the male students sitting at his table, he was probably one of Rokurou's athletes.

Taiga grinned sheepishly, scratching his neck. "Thanks, Jo."

Once the applause had died down somewhat, the two headed off towards the now vacated tables where the condiment refills were. Yanagi struck up another conversation with the others around her, though Monika's attention lingered elsewhere.

Before she knew it, her attention drifted towards the corner booth, landing on the blond reclining in his seat, arms folded behind his head.

Though he initially seemed to be listening in on whatever Ran and Mikami were talking about, she saw him slowly shifting—until their eyes met.

She flashed him a small smile. Sai stirred a little, and smiled back.

* * *

The entire commute back home was filled with conversation. Though Sayori had to leave the moment they left Con Crema—mentioning that her house wasn't too far from Rokurou, so she would just walk—Yanagi proved herself to be quite the social butterfly, able to get both Natsuki and Yuri relaxed and talking.

Monika found herself returning home with a smile on her face, her head brimming with ideas. She'd managed to get a good enough idea of how Sai's writing was like, even if it was just for short stories. Humming, she immediately went upstairs to her room, plucking out her composition notebook and setting it atop her desk.

Pondering a little more on today's events as she sat down, she wondered what would be a good topic to write about. Now that inspiration had struck, ideas came flowing in droves, and it was hard to keep track of all of them. She calmed herself and thought things more thoroughly.

She figured she could try and write about Rokurou—a newcomer's view of the academy. Or, she could even write about the nostalgia, she felt, thinking about Katayama today. Maybe she could even throw a curveball and write about Con Crema? Its 50's diner appeal certainly was interesting.

She could, if she dared to, even write about Sai himself- though she quickly shook the idea away. It would be weird to write about the editor. It was practically pandering, after all, and she didn't want to come off as someone trying too hard to impress the other.

Nevertheless, she sat down, flipping to a blank page in the notebook and producing her heart-capped pen. She was sure she'd get something more concrete down the moment she started writing. Thinking too hard on it would just lead to her putting it off in favor of brainstorming ideas that might never come to be.

And so, she put the tip of her pen to the blank page, and finally began to write.

* * *

**Author's Note: Chapter 5 is done! I'm officially on break now, which should give me some more time to write- if all goes well. I gotta try to recover from the long and stressful school year too, after all. Writing's also a form of relaxation, so I'm just gonna have to take advice from the game itself and try to get something down on paper once the ideas start rolling in. Hopefully this means more frequent updates!**

**That being said, if you like the story so far, feel free to leave a review, and thank you for supporting the continued writing of _Opposing Perspectives!_**


	7. 6 - Intertwining Melodies

**Opposing Perspectives Chapter 6 – Intertwining Melodies**

**(Disclaimer: I do not own Doki Doki Literature Club or any of its characters. The OCs featured here, however, are mine.)**

* * *

Monika liked to think she adapted to new situations quickly. She had only been in middle school when her father and mother started heading to work earlier, and it only took her a few days to get used to being alone in the house. Her mother had insisted she go through the enrollment procedures in Katayama and Rokurou on her own, and she did, after a bit of fumbling.

Familiarity was a good reason for it. She stuck to a morning routine—wake up, make her bed, take an early shower and double check on all the things she needed for school. After that was a quick breakfast, sometimes a last-minute check to see if everything was turned off properly in the house, and she was off to the train station.

This morning, though, she found an unexpected, but certainly not unwanted, wrench in her routine.

As she made her way down the stairs, already dressed in her uniform and with her schoolbag over one shoulder, she was greeted with the sight of her father at the dining table.

He was busy nursing a mug of coffee, droplets of water still clinging to the short strands of his dark brown hair. Nevertheless, he smiled when she approached.

"Good morning," He greeted, his expression lighting up somewhat. Monika flashed him a smile back.

"Good morning~"

"Coffee's over that way," He motioned to the coffee maker sitting atop the kitchen counter. The brunette nodded gratefully, moving to pour herself a cup. Having coffee before the start of the school day was always a good thing.

"Aren't you going to work today?" She called, taking a quick glance at her father over her shoulder. Her father paused, the rim of his mug just a few inches away from his lips.

"I am," He confirmed. "I'm just not heading over to the office early today."

"So, you're not going with Mother today?" The smell of cooked bacon and eggs reached her nose, already putting a small smile on her face. Her father rarely cooked, but whenever he did, it usually turned out rather well.

"No…she left early today. She has a long meeting ahead and won't be back until much, much later tonight, or so she says. Something about a schedule change." Her father sighed, rubbing his temples as Monika came back with her own plate of breakfast and cup of coffee. "At least it gives me time for a proper breakfast."

"Well, when life gives you lemons, right?" This drew a small smile and a chuckle from her father.

For a little while, a comfortable silence settled over them as they ate their breakfast. The only noise in the house came from the droning of the TV, broadcasting the morning news.

Once they finished, her father turned off the TV and ran a hand through his hair in an effort to slick it back. "Let me just finish my coffee, and I'll drive you to school."

"Drive me?"

"So that you don't have to take the train," He explained, taking a quick sip from his mug and offering a small smile. "Unless you had somewhere to go beforehand?"

"No, not at all…" Monika hummed, carefully setting the dishes in the sink. Her father gave a small nod, turning back to his coffee. Silence settled again, although the brunette couldn't help but smile softly to herself. The interaction, admittedly, was already a good start to her day. It had been a while since she had breakfast with her father, after all.

* * *

Cold air from the car's air conditioning washed over Monika as their car made its way down the busy streets of the city. Her father's radio was tuned in to some station playing a few obscure songs, supposedly from indie bands trying to make a hit. She paid it no mind—she was too busy double-checking her schoolbag if she missed anything.

Seeing the familiar green of her composition notebook among her textbooks and binder notebook, she breathed a sigh of relief. She gently pulled it out, flipping through the pages until she landed on the draft she had written for her contribution to the Literary Section.

Caught up as she was in skimming the lines for any errors, she didn't notice her father throwing her a glance, and smiling softly.

"So, how's Rokurou been so far? Made any friends yet?"

"It's been pretty nice," She replied, still poring through her notebook. "And…yeah, I have. Aside from the other three, of course."

"I figured. You've always been a social butterfly." Her father chuckled. "What's that, anyway? Homework?"

"This?" She motioned to her composition notebook. "Oh, it's just something I wrote up for the school newspaper. I plan on joining."

Her father whistled in appreciation. "The school newspaper, huh? Getting into student organizations this early?"

She grinned. "Hey, it's best to get a head start on adapting to the school, right?"

"True, true." Her father smiled. "If the editors turn it down, give me a call and I'm sure I can, ah, convince them to take it in." He jokingly winked.

"Dad, no!" Monika giggled.

"Alright, alright. But the offer will always stand." He gave a hearty laugh as his daughter playfully slugged his shoulder.

As they passed the train station, Monika found herself scanning the lines briefly for any familiar figures. "I wonder if Yuri already got on a train," She mused, idly.

"You mean Souji's daughter?" Her father piped up, curiosity lacing his tone. "She takes the train?"

"Yeah. Her parents leave early or are usually on business trips—at least, that's what she says," Monika confirmed.

"Sounds like Souji, alright." Her father sighed, shaking his head, though a good-natured smile remained on his face. Then, he grew thoughtful.

"If your mother insists on changing her schedule so she can leave earlier," He mused, "then why don't you ask Souji's daughter if she wants to hitch a ride with us instead of going to the train station?"

"I'll…try," Monika shifted a bit in her seat. It was certainly worth a try, but she didn't want her friend to feel too bothered. At least, not right away. "Maybe when Mother finishes with her business trip. We can't be too sure about her schedule change yet."

"As long as you try." Her father nodded, focusing back on the road as he dropped the subject. Monika relaxed, placing her composition notebook neatly back into her schoolbag and gazing out the window.

Only a bit more until she reached Rokurou, after all.

* * *

When they reached the gates of Rokurou, students were only starting to come in. Only a few roamed the campus, so she took a quick look at the clock. A full two hours before the start of class—which she figured was the reason for the lack of people.

Her father unlocked the car doors, turning to flash her a smile as she climbed out. "Have a good day, Monika."

"You too," She returned the expression and waved before closing the car door, turning towards the gates. As she walked past the entrance, she heard her father's car driving away.

It was refreshing to see Rokurou at its earliest hours. Aside from the students, she noticed the staff still working around the area, sweeping up leaves into piles and replacing trash bags. She noticed a whole group of people jogging around the campus, and smiled. Rokurou seemed rather inviting and open to outsiders, as long as they weren't disturbing the students.

"_I'll have to explore the campus a little later,"_ She noted to herself. It would be good to get acquainted with the area, after all.

As she made the quick climb up to the third floor, a resounding _clang _filled the hallway. There didn't seem to be a lot of students on their floor, yet—except for one, kneeling near the vending machine.

"Karasu-kun," She called out, smiling a bit. "Good morning."

The blond's head snapped up, his gaze meeting hers. He gave a quick nod in her direction, fishing out a can of coffee from the vending machine. "Morning."

He turned to head back into the classroom, and Monika noticed the white cord dangling down his neck and up to his ears, connected to similarly colored earbuds. _"Seems like he's busy...or it's just too early to be having any conversations."_

Following him into the classroom, she found herself surprised by the lack of people in the classroom. During the past few days she had come to class, there was usually a small group of people already gathered inside—particularly, Mikami, another girl, and the student with the pompadour; whose name she quickly learned was Jotaro.

What a coincidence it was that she and Sai both arrived early today—though he certainly didn't seem to be particularly fond of it, judging from his exhausted expression. Her blond classmate was reclining in his chair, his beat-up sneakers propped up on his desk. The can of coffee he had bought was already opened on his desk, although his focus was on the phone in his hands.

Monika turned her attention to the windows, just beside the blond's desk. It provided a rather nice view of the rest of Rokurou's campus, and a view of the city beyond. With the sun just peeking over the horizon, it almost seemed as if the city itself was only beginning to wake up.

It brought a smile to her face. Coming out early was worth it if she would be greeted by this sight.

The door opening brought her out of her thoughts, and she turned around just in time to see Mikami entering the room. The bespectacled student blinked in surprise as he noticed them. Monika smiled over at him.

"Good morning, Suidobashi-kun."

"Morning." He greeted back, looking over at the other man in the classroom. "Morning, Sai."

"Nn." Sai gave a quick nod in his direction, pulling out his earbuds and draping them over the back of his neck as he sat upright. "Morning, Kami."

"You two are here early," He remarked, adjusting his glasses as he walked in, heading for his desk.

"_Aniki _insisted we head out early," Sai shrugged. "So, here I am."

"_Aniki_...?" Monika paused. Was that a title of some sort? Sai raised an eyebrow at her question, before seemingly remembering something.

"Ah. Never heard that term before?" Mikami asked, tilting his head a little.

"I've heard it from a few guys before at Katayama, but I never really found out what it actually meant." Monika smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, I haven't really picked up on a lot of slang here."

"It's nothing big," Sai spoke up, shaking his head. "It's just how I call my older brother."

"Ah, it can also be used to refer to someone you view with respect," Mikami chimed in, smiling a little. "At least, I think that's how it's used."

"I see..." Monika offered a small smile, turning to the blond. "Are you close with your brother?"

To her surprise, his brows furrowed in mild frustration. "It's..." He paused, briefly glancing back at her. "It is what it is. Not really anything special." He spoke with finality, snapping his gaze away.

"Oh..." That was...unexpected. Monika glanced over to Mikami, tilting her head a little. The bespectacled man could only offer her a small, weak smile, and shook his head. It didn't seem like Sai wanted to talk any further about the subject.

Thankfully, the silence that followed was quickly broken by more students starting to file in. A familiar, bubbly voice filled the room.

"Good morning~!" Sayori called out cheerfully, waving. Mikami turned and smiled back politely, returning the greeting, and Monika quickly moved to do the same. With her bright smile still in place, Sayori turned to Sai, almost expectant.

"Karasu-san?" She grinned. The blond glanced up at her, and Monika barely catches the brief confusion in his face at the greeting.

"Oh." His voice came out flat and deadpan. "Morning, Fujiwara."

"Awww..." Sayori pretended to pout, leaning forward and placing her hands atop the blond's desk. "That wasn't enthusiastic at all!"

Sai's lips seemed to twitch, though whether it was into a grimace or a smile, Monika couldn't tell. "Do I have to be enthusiastic this early in the morning?"

"It's not _that _early," Sayori continued to pout. Sai let out a quiet laugh, shaking his head and glancing out the window.

"Unfortunately, it is to me."

"Oh, come on, Boss," Taiga's voice cut in as he entered the classroom, a grin already on his face. "You're usually a lot more positive on a Wednesday!"

Sayori seemed to light up when Taiga came in—clearly happy that someone agreed with her. "Oh, yeah! Only two more days 'til the weekend!" She cheered, snapping back to her happy-go-lucky disposition almost in the blink of an eye.

"Yeah...now that you mention it, it's almost the end of the week..." Monika caught the blond glance over at her in the corner of his eye as he spoke. In return, she gave him a reassuring smile and a small, almost imperceptible nod. She already had a draft written, after all.

He gave a small nod in return, turning his attention back to Taiga afterwards.

"Anyway, if you want to chew me out for being negative on a Wednesday, why don't you take it out on Ran?" He chuckled; his tone jokingly accusatory.

"Well, for one," Mikami grinned, "He's not here yet."

"Oh, he texted earlier." Taiga smiled sheepishly. "Apparently it's one of those rare days where the train gets delayed, so he's stuck in there."

"Nah, he's just saying that. We all know what he's actually doing is contemplating life in the shower." Sai snickered.

"Not the shower," Mikami adjusted his glasses, grinning. "In bed. Chances are, he's not even fully awake yet."

"Sounds about right." Taiga laughed, joined by the two others shortly after. Monika's attention was quickly drawn away by a familiar, petite figure practically striding in through the classroom doors.

"Good morning, Nat!" Sayori greeted cheerfully, only to be met with a wide, and very triumphant grin from the pink-haired girl.

"And what a good morning it is," Natsuki declared, hands on her hips and head held high. Monika couldn't help but stifle a small giggle at seeing Natsuki so proud of herself.

"You seem to be in a good mood today," She smiled. "Did something happen?"

"Take a look around you, ladies." Natsuki made a wide, sweeping gesture with her arm to the rest of the classroom. Sayori seemed momentarily confused, though Monika could already guess what the girl was hinting at.

She gave a small sigh, and smiled. "Let me guess. It's got something to do with Yuri not being here yet."

"Exactly! Ha! I got here earlier than her, for the first time." The petite girl snickered. "Apparently, the train she takes got delayed."

Monika could have sworn she heard the boys' conversation come to a lull at Natsuki's loud proclamation. She giggled. Maybe Ran _was _stuck in the train after all.

As Natsuki strode back to her desk, Sayori sidled up beside the brunette. "I didn't know Nat and Yuri were competing over attendance, too," The bubbly girl whispered, a hint of concern in her tone. Monika just shook her head and giggled.

"Just between you and me, Sayori?" She glanced over to where Natsuki was already typing furiously away on her phone, a wide grin on her face. "I'm pretty sure she's the only one who sees it as competition."

* * *

Classes passed by in a flash. One of their teachers had dismissed them early—and luckily enough for Monika, it was the period right before lunch, as well. Having taken an early lunch during the recess period, she figured it was a good time as any to try and explore the building.

"_First things first, though..."_ She looked around the classroom to spot what the others were doing.

Sayori was sitting with a group of girls, happily chatting away with a bright grin on her face. Natsuki, surprisingly, had her head down and arms folded. Judging from the rhythmic rise and fall of her shoulders, she was probably asleep. Yuri—who had arrived ten minutes before the start of the first class—was going over her notes.

Even Yanagi was gone, although Monika already expected it. She was probably assisting the teachers again. Seeing as everyone was busy, and she had free time on her hands, the brunette rose from her seat with a quick stretch and started to head for the door.

"Whoa!"

She had scarcely taken a few steps out before she found herself almost walking into another student. Luckily, the other student paused, his hands held up a bit to put some distance between them.

"Oh, sorry," She quickly apologized, glancing up at the other student—and relaxing significantly when she realized that it was just Ran.

"No, no, it's fine." Ran chuckled, shoving his hands in his pockets as he glanced at the clock. "You heading out to take an early lunch too?"

"No, I already ate earlier." Monika shook her head. "I was planning on exploring the building, actually."

"Got anything in mind?" Ran tilted his head. "I can give you directions, if you want." He offered, smiling politely.

There _was_ one room Monika sought to check out today; although Yanagi already showed her where. With that in mind, she shook her head.

"The music room, actually." She answered. "No need for the directions, as well. Yanagi showed me where it was the last time."

"The music room, huh?" Ran, thankfully, didn't seem to be fazed by her rejection. "You're in luck. I passed by earlier and I'm pretty sure it's open right now."

"It isn't always open?" Now it was her turn to tilt her head.

Ran gave a quick shrug. "Well, don't get me wrong—students can open it and use it at will as long as they get permission from the music teacher, Ryu-sensei, and as long as it's not already in use. If it's open, though, I'm pretty sure you can come in and check things out as long as you don't end up disturbing whoever's using it, of course."

"So, it's in use?"

"Yeah." Ran grinned, throwing in a small wink. "But don't worry about that. I'm pretty sure the guy using it right now will let you in, though."

That...confused her a little, but she chalked it up to Ran's eccentricities. She smiled politely. "Alright, thanks!"

As she moved to walk past him, Ran called out. "And, hey, uh...Harriet?"

"Yes?" She turned to look at him. The redhead rubbed at his neck a little.

"Do you know the title of the book Ishida-san usually reads? You know, the red one with the eye in front." He winked again.

"Ah." Monika flashed him a knowing smile. "I believe it's called _Portrait of Markov_."

"Is it good?"

"Well," She rocked back on her heels a little and grinned at him. "I haven't read it, myself, but I'm sure Yuri will be more than happy to tell you all about it."

"True, true." Ran chuckled, his grin a little lopsided. "So, wish me luck, eh?"

"Don't worry," Monika giggled. "I'm pretty sure she'll let you in, no problem." She repeated his words back to him.

Ran laughed, and headed inside the classroom. With her mood significantly lightened; Monika spun on her heel to head down the hallways again.

* * *

It was refreshing to see Rokurou when it was lively. Students lined every hall, talking, laughing, eating and sometimes arguing. Monika could still feel a few pairs of eyes landing on her as she passed through the halls, reminding her briefly of her popularity at Katayama. This time, though, with her being a new student and all, she had to chalk it up to her foreign charm.

As she finally reached the ground floor, she heard more voices—too high-pitched and light to be high school students. She quickly stepped out of the way of a few, younger students who were busy chasing one another in a game of tag. Elementary students, she figured.

She shook her head and chuckled. It was nice to see how carefree the younger students were. For most of her time in elementary school, Monika hadn't exactly been as playful.

As she headed down the slope leading to the office areas, she relaxed. Things were much quieter here, and perhaps even a bit stiff—it reminded her of the time her father took her to his workplace and showed her around the offices.

Unlike her father's workplace, though, at least she wasn't surrounded by adults typing away on their computers and sorting out paperwork. She was surrounded by students, the same as her, reading, working on their assignments, or just catching up with friends.

She slowed to a stop in front of the music room's door. Surprisingly, there wasn't anyone inside, but the door was open—making Ran's comment even more confusing. Despite this, she shook off the confusion and gingerly stepped inside.

The music room was well-stocked, and very quiet. Aside from the grand piano sitting in the center of the room, there were shelves stocked with book-bound music sheets for a variety of instruments, and what Monika could only guess were CDs and records. There was an audio player nearby, as well as a whiteboard.

On the whiteboard, she could make out a few faded lyrics, along with chords. Whether they were for the guitar, or the piano, or even something else entirely, Monika couldn't tell.

A few chairs were set up around the room. Curiously enough, there was a guitar case lying on the floor, open—although there was no guitar inside.

Despite her observation of the room, Monika found her attention being drawn back to the piano. As she approached it, she had to admire just how well-maintained it was. The cover was glossy, not a speck of dust to be seen. Testing a few keys out, its sound rang out clearly around the room.

She took another glance around the room. Whoever was using the room wasn't back yet. Surely, they wouldn't mind if she practiced a bit, would they?

With that thought in mind, she settled into the piano bench and tried to recall the few pieces she had practiced before. It didn't take too long until she managed to find a rhythm, letting muscle memory take over as she closed her eyes.

The pieces came one after the other, memories coming and going along with them.

_Fur Elise_. She remembered it as a favorite of her instructor, back at Katayama. Her instructor had been a kindly young woman with a passion for music. A bit strict at times, certainly, but it was nothing compared to her own mother's discipline. Nevertheless, her instructor didn't stray too far from well-known pieces.

She remembered her father playing out the tune of _Clair de Lune _on their own piano back at home. She remembered watching him as a child, wondering how he managed to weave such melodies just by pressing a few keys. Even her mother liked listening—she would lean up against the wall with her arms folded. Monika remembered that it was one of the few times she got to see her mother genuinely calm, much unlike her usual cold façade.

She never knew the actual name of a certain piece, until her instructor brought it up during one of their lessons. _The Blue Danube—_the most well-known waltz piece. Personally, she'd always dreamed of waltzing to this, one day, with someone she liked. Just hearing it brought a smile to her lips.

As she finished the piece, she heard footsteps—and a shift in the mood of the room. She opened her eyes just in time to see Sai leaning against the doorway.

"And here I thought someone was practicing for the school dance early." He remarked, though she couldn't sense any hostility in his tone. His lips curled upwards into a half-smile.

"Turns out it's just you, Ribbons."

"Karasu-kun?" Monika shifted a little on the piano bench, just before noticing the acoustic guitar in his hands. Her eyes drifted back to the open guitar case on the floor, and she quickly put two and two together.

"Oh, were you practicing in here?" She moved to sit up, but the blond motioned for her to relax with a dismissive wave.

"Yeah. I don't mind the company, though." Sai shrugged, walking into the room.

Monika waited until he had sat down in one of the chairs and rest his guitar just across his lap. It was black, though there was silver writing on the bottom right. _Furuya_, it read in kanji.

"Furuya?" She asked, motioning to the writing. Sai barely glanced up as he clipped a small, black device to the headstock.

"My dad wanted to write my name on it." He spoke dryly. "I asked _Aniki _to write something different instead."

"So, who's Furuya?" She inquired further.

"Just a guitarist I look up to," Sai admitted—though if he was embarrassed, he certainly wasn't showing it. "They make some pretty nifty guitar tutorial videos and covers online. Really helped me get into the hobby."

"I see..." Monika turned back to the piano, pursing her lips in thought.

"...I just saw that the door was open and no one was inside, so I decided to come in." She explained. "I apologize if I've disrupted anything."

"I already said it's fine, Ribbons." Sai replied. Even without looking at him, she could practically tell his brow was furrowing again. "Besides, I just headed out to get the tuner from Ryu-sensei."

"I actually hadn't met him yet," Monika admitted. "How is he like?"

She heard him chuckle. "If you're worried about your grades or anything like that, no need. Ryu-sensei's the most laidback teacher in the school. With your piano-playing, you're guaranteed to pass."

"Laidback?" She smiled. "Kind of like Ran?"

"Oh, please. Ryu-sensei is Ran's idol when it comes to being laidback." Sai laughed. "I'm serious. If we're not trying to learn new songs that day, he's probably just gonna sit there at the desk watching everyone try to figure out how their instruments work and take occasional requests."

Monika hummed as she listened to Sai talk about music class. Idly, she found her fingers tapping out a simple rhythm on the piano keys—one that made Sai stop, as if listening intently.

Then, she heard music accompany her own playing. The sound of a guitar.

With the simple tune, she turned to look over her shoulder. Sai had joined in, long fingers dancing over the strings of his guitar. His expression was more focused than hers—it only took her a second to realize that they were playing the same tune.

As the short piece drew to a close, she heard Sai murmur something.

"I stepped on a cat."

"Eh?" That was...hilariously out of the blue. She tilted her head. "E-Excuse me?"

"The song." Sai grunted. "_I stepped on a cat."_

Monika eyed him, her expression half in shock and the other in curiosity. What did stepping on cats have to do with piano?

"That piece was...the Flea Waltz," She spoke uncertainly, still not quite grasping what Sai was trying to say. "I don't see how cats have anything to do with it?"

"I know it's the Flea Waltz. It's called _I stepped on a cat_ here." Sai ran a hand through his hair, a faint redness appearing on his face.

Monika paused, then giggled as she got the gist of what he was saying. "Why is it called that?" She laughed, shaking her head.

"Hell if I know, Ribbons, I don't make the titles, do I?" Sai snapped, the redness in his face deepening in shade. "And don't laugh. In Polish, it supposedly translates to _Cutlet_. Make of that what you will before you start judging titles."

Monika let her laughter die down a little, though she briefly caught the hints of an amused smile on Sai's face. It was still vastly overcome by his embarrassed expression, though, which...held its own charm, in a way. From their past few interactions, he'd always been unreadable or just plain stoic.

"Okay, okay..." She calmed herself, regaining her composure as she sat straight up and turned to face him. Sai grumbled, already in the midst of plucking another melody on his guitar. It was a fairly nondescript tune, but she watched the way his fingers played on the strings. It was strangely mesmerizing- it reminded her of her awe at watching her father play the piano for the first time.

"Still," She spoke, still watching him play. "You're pretty good at guitar, Karasu-kun. How long have you been playing?"

"Almost four years, I'd reckon." Sai replied, his voice back to its nonchalant tone. "I started out being taught by my dad, but everything else I picked up on my own."

"Everything else?" She tilted her head.

"Plucking, reading tabs, chords outside of the basic ones. A bit of sheet music reading, though I'm admittedly not as good at that yet." Sai paused. "Dad always said I was a fast learner with the guitar. Guess it runs in our blood."

"That must be nice..." She offered him a reassuring smile. "Are there any pieces you particularly like playing?"

Sai thinned his lips in thought, his fingers coming to a stop. After a while, he spoke. "...A few. Look, Ribbons, instead of me telling you all about my guitar playing, why don't I actually- you know, play instead?"

Monika raised an eyebrow. It was probably just something he said without thinking, but...

Her lips lifted into a bit of a smirk as she leaned forward, propping her head up on her palm. "Well, since you so kindly offered to play for me, I'd hate to be rude and not listen."

Sai seemed to realize the implications of his words. His eyes lit up—though not with the prior embarrassment she had seen. His eyes lit up with determination.

"Hah." He leaned back, his fingers moving into position over the fretboard of his guitar.

"Then I'll play until you've had your fill, Ribbons."

* * *

**Author's Note: Chapter 6 done! It's a good thing this chapter practically wrote itself, since this is the longest one so far. Clocked in at around 5k words, and that's without the author's note and disclaimer!**

**Kinda proud of this chapter, myself. The last time I took a break from this chapter, I stopped at around 1k words. Ended up knocking out the remaining 4k words in this chapter in one night, all without coffee to boot!**

**Anyway, I ended up having to do a bit of reading on some beginner piano pieces for this chapter. And yes, Flea Waltz (or Flohwalzer, in German) is supposedly named "_I stepped on the cat" _or _"Neko funjatta"_ in Japan, so that's a little bit of trivia! Just when I thought that was weird enough on its own, I ended up reading about the _Cutlet _thing. Funny how translations work sometimes, huh?**

**That being said, if you like the story so far, feel free to leave a review, and thank you for supporting the continued writing of _Opposing Perspectives!_**


	8. 7 - Alternating View

**Opposing Perspectives Chapter 7 – Alternating View**

**(Disclaimer: I do not own Doki Doki Literature Club or any of its characters. The OCs featured here, however, are mine.)**

* * *

For a long while, Monika remained still and silent—hands neatly folded atop her lap as she observed and listened to the man just sitting across from her. The sounds of his guitar filled the room, seemingly surrounding them both with music.

A flash of nostalgia gripped her, the odd, warm feeling blossoming in her chest. When she was younger, piano was a simple concept—a single press would produce a sound. But with guitar, that was different. She had always admired the way the musician's fingers would move across the instrument's surface—almost as if dancing along to the music it produced.

She listened to Sai play various pieces; some of them fast and intense, noticeably causing his brow to furrow and his expression to tighten as he tried to make sure he played it correctly. Some, on the other hand, were soft and slow, almost soothing to the ears—so different from what she thought he would play.

All of them shared one thing in common, though. He didn't seem to play any classical, aside from his earlier rendition of the Flea Waltz.

Monika watched as he stopped to rub the tips of his fingers; almost as if fiddling with something.

"You don't play a lot of classical, do you, Karasu-kun?" She asked, keeping her voice polite. Sai tensed a little at her question, shoulders bunching a little.

"No." Came his quick, curt reply. Monika nodded a little absently, lips pursed a little in thought. This wasn't the first time she'd encountered someone who didn't quite share the same interests as her, but this was one of the rare times she was dealing someone with an almost hair-trigger temper.

"Nothing wrong with that," She quickly clarified. "I just thought that a lot of the songs you played sounded...pretty modern?"

"That's because they are," Sai seemed to settle a little, his tensed frame slackening as he relaxed. "Why, did anything stand out to you in particular?"

"I recognized one. I think it was called _Burn_?" Monika pursed her lips in thought, trying to recall the band name...to no avail. "I don't really remember who made it, though."

"_Six Cycles Below._" Sai answered, raising an eyebrow. "You've heard them before?"

"Yeah, I think." Bringing the tips of her fingers to her lips, the brunette recalled where she had heard the song.

"It was...during an event at Shibuya, I think. My father took me there since he wasn't comfortable with the idea of me being stuck all alone at home for a week while both he and my mother were on trips for work."

"How old were you then?" Sai raised an eyebrow.

"Fifteen." She responded honestly. The blond gave a satisfied nod, before motioning for her to continue.

"Anyway, my father wrapped up his meeting for the day pretty early, so he asked if I wanted to go anywhere. Since I didn't have any particular place I wanted to head to, we just resorted to exploring."

"Ribbons, you were in _Shibuya, _and you didn't have anywhere in mind to visit?" Sai chuckled, his tone teasing. "Isn't that place practically dripping in landmarks and tourist spots?"

"I know it is!" Monika giggled. "That's what made it hard to pick in the first place, Karasu-kun."

"Point taken." The blond shrugged, still amused as he leaned back in his seat. "So, how did that exploration go?"

"It went fine. We ended up heading to Harajuku, it being the center of youth culture and all...we stopped by a pretty trendy café for some evening coffee before we headed back to our hotel, and found out that it allowed bands to perform. That's where I heard the song, I think."

Sai nodded, listening intently to her recollection of the trip. "I see...who would've thought that they were performing at Harajuku?"

"Did you ever see them live, Karasu-kun?" Now it was her turn to ask questions.

Sai shook his head in response. "Unless you count recorded versions of their live shows, never. Yanagi had, though. She was the one that introduced me to their music."

"Yanagi?" Monika tilted her head. The blond nodded, leaning down to rifle through the front pocket of his guitar case.

"Yeah. Through this."

He pulled out...a cassette tape. On the front, in Yanagi's handwriting and in all caps, were the words: _**"UPRISING: VOL. 3"**_

Monika allowed some of the surprise at seeing such an old device to wear off a little before she finally spoke. "A mixtape?"

"Yeah." Sai deadpanned, though his expression softened as he fiddled with the tape in his hands- putting a damper on his sharp features.

"Yanagi's always been pretty old fashioned." He remarked. "She could just make a playlist on some music app, or something. Instead, she insists on using cassette tapes." He shook his head, though a soft smile played on his lips. "Says it makes it more personal. Whatever makes her happy, I guess."

As soon as she saw the smile come up, it disappeared. Sai cleared his throat, gripping the tape in one hand. "Anyway, the Uprising tapes usually contain all the songs we need to get into a working mood. We'd listen to it all day whenever we worked on Anthem."

"I see..." Monika smiled softly. "You and Yanagi are pretty close, huh, Karasu-kun?"

The words came out without her proper thought, and the brunette found herself caught off guard. It was nice knowing that Sai had it in him to be fond, and that expression on his face had been such a far cry from his usual, rough facades that it...made Monika want to see it again. And yet...

"I might be a little jealous."

Sai's eyebrows lifted in surprise as she spoke. For a moment, she was concerned they would disappear into his hairline- though not as concerned as she was about her sudden, reckless words.

That was so unexpected of her. She was usually the kind of person who thought before she spoke. Saying things so carelessly wasn't like her. With the feeling of concern putting an unpleasant weight in her chest, she found herself unable to meet the blond's gaze.

"Ahaha...did I speak too soon?"

Sai was silent for a moment. Then, his rough tone cut through the silence.

"Not at all."

Monika looked up at him again, but found that he was averting his eyes.

"I mean," He coughed a little, "you and Yanagi are already getting along well, and all. And if all goes well, we're gonna be seeing a lot of each other at the publication office anyway, and since you're my contributor, I kind of have to know you and-" He groaned loudly, seemingly noticing his endless string of rambling and cutting it short.

"Y-You know what I mean. You and me, Ribbons," He managed a grin over at her. "I feel we can get something good going. You feel me?"

For some reason, that awkward grin and those rushed words caused a deep warmth to blossom in the brunette's chest.

She thought back to the draft she had written down. _That wasn't going to be enough_, she decided. The inspiration she had for that poem was nothing compared to the overwhelming feeling she had taken the brunt of, just seeing that expression.

She couldn't help but smile back.

"Yeah." She nodded. "I feel the same, Karasu-kun."

For a while, they found themselves holding each other's gaze, until the bell finally rang.

* * *

The walk back to class was spent in comfortable silence—which settled Monika's nerves more than she had expected.

She always took comfortable silence as something good. It meant everyone involved was comfortable enough with each other without having to start any small talk or conversations. She initially thought it was just a side effect of being friends with someone for long enough; but she'd only known the blond beside her for a few days.

Without really thinking about it, she found her gaze being drawn to him as he strode alongside her, gaze fixed stiffly forward. She hadn't really had the opportunity to get a closer, better look at Sai now that she thought about it. On the few occasions she had caught him alone, her mind was always in another place.

What immediately stood out to her was how strikingly different he seemed from the other three in his group. The three looked, in a way, friendly and open- so Sai almost immediately stood out from their crowd, with his narrowed eyes and constant scowl.

He walked with his hands in his pockets and his shoulders hunched a little. It was hard to tell his build, with him so covered up- though his rigid posture and tight-lipped frown certainly gave off the aura that he was always an inch away from getting into a fight.

Whether that was a good thing or a bad thing was lost on Monika. What she did know, however, was that he radiated a strange sort of security that put her at ease- a lingering feeling that as long as she was with him, no harm would come to her.

She caught his eye in her inspection, watching him as he tensed further. Their steps slowed to a stop in front of their classroom door.

"Something wrong, Ribbons?" Though his words were meant for her, his eyes made a quick sweep around, as if looking for something.

"Nothing," She smiled, and he gave a stiff nod as he snapped his gaze away, already reaching for the doorknob.

The moment he opened the door, a blast of cold air and sound washed over them both.

Monika spotted Ran reclining in his seat just near the corner, Yuri already buried in a book just beside him. She could hear the purple haired girl's voice, amidst all the noise- it seemed like she was already busy discussing the book she was reading to the redhead.

Ran's gaze briefly slipped over to them at the doorway. A long smile played on his lips, and he gave a lazy wave over to them. Monika waved back, and in the corner of her vision she saw Sai give a quick nod back.

"Ran? Are you still-?" As the brunette sat down, she heard Yuri call to her seatmate.

"Hm? Yeah, I'm listening."

"I-I'm sorry, I'm rambling again, aren't I...? Uuu..."

"Ah-?! No, hey! I'm listening! It's not bad at all!"

She saw Mikami roll his eyes a little from where he sat, not even bothering to hide the amusement in his face. Taiga shook his head in mock sympathy, chuckling softly.

Beside her, Yanagi leaned over, eyes shifting worriedly to where Ran was trying to calm down Yuri.

"Does this happen often with Ishida-san?" Yanagi asked with a small, sympathetic smile and concern lacing her tone.

Monika let out a little laugh.

"More often than you think, unfortunately."

* * *

The sun was already starting to set when classes ended for the day, dyeing the sky a deep shade of orange.

"We'd better start assigning cleaning groups next week," Mikami spoke, frowning a little as he looked around the classroom. Spare pieces of paper and scattered school supplies littered the floor, which the bespectacled man knelt down to collect.

"Really aiming to be class rep this year, huh, Kami?" Taiga was quick to approach him, a broom and dustpan in his hands. "Though, I agree. It'd be pretty bad if we just left all the cleaning to the janitors."

A groan resounded from the back of the room, where Ran folded his arms behind his head and rocked back in his seat. "You really think we can make cleaning groups out of 20 students, Kami? Let's just leave it until the student council bugs us about it."

"Sure we can." Sai spoke up, leaning over and tiredly shoving his textbooks back into his bag. Mikami nodded in agreement.

"Four students each day. Provided _some people _don't skimp out on their duties, it should be enough to ensure this place is clean." Mikami shot Ran a playful glare, adjusting his glasses. The redhead raised his hands in mock surrender.

"That being said, it'll at least save us the trouble of being bugged by the snobs up top." Sai rolled his shoulders back, casting an idle glare towards the direction of the student council room.

"Brownie points with the teachers, too." Taiga grinned, providing a more positive alternative to the blond's idea. He stretched as he hoisted up his book bag over his shoulders, glancing around at everyone.

"So, you guys heading out soon, too?"

"I'm gonna stay for a while," Ran chuckled, golden eyes briefly darting over to where Sai stood. "I'm gonna go see if I can fit in a few minutes at the music room."

Sai quirked an eyebrow, but Taiga simply nodded and turned to Mikami. "What about you, Kami?"

"I can only wish I'd be heading home now." Mikami sighed, smiling apologetically. "Sorry, I have to wait for Koizumi today. She's practicing something for class."

"Practicing this early?" Sai frowned.

"In their class's defense, they're under Mr. Ito, Sai." Ran grinned. "You and I both know how that guy teaches all of his classes."

"By having us demonstrate the lesson while he sits back and just watches us try to do it without having any idea of what we're doing?" The blond smirked a little.

"Exactly." The redhead finally pushed off his chair, picking up his book bag and slinging it over his shoulder. "Anyway, I'd better get going to the music room. You wanna tag along, Kami?"

Mikami shrugged. "I guess I can wait for Koizumi there. Alright."

"So, it's just me and Boss then, huh?" Taiga was already heading for the doorway, taking a glance back at the other three.

"Why, you don't appreciate my company?" Sai grinned, playfully slugging the blue-haired man in the shoulder as he approached. Taiga grimaced briefly at the hit before grinning, shoving back a little with his elbow.

"It means whatever you think it means, Boss."

* * *

With the setting sun casting its orange glow over the entire city, Rokurou's campus lacked its usual cheeriness.

At the sight of the other students leaving the school, exhaustion practically seemed to seep into Sai's bones. It hung like a heavy weight on his shoulders, slowing his steps; though he strove to keep stride with Taiga. His blue-haired friend was talking on and on about a recent horror game he had discovered—either that, or he was talking about the latest episode of Blazing Red, which Sai had to remind himself to watch.

Nevertheless, his mind was in a dozen different places. He found himself spacing out, absently nodding along to Taiga's words and managing a quip or two in response every now and then. He suddenly found himself not being able to think of anything but getting home.

To try and distract himself, Sai allowed his gaze to wander around the campus grounds. He figured at this time the faculty would still be in the building, doing whatever it was teachers did—he really didn't care enough to know. Yanagi would, with her massive workload and equally as large work ethic.

"_Huh. Yanagi." _That was a thought. He hadn't seen her leave; maybe she slipped past him while he was tossing away his coffee can. Probably off to some after school activities, as always. "_Maybe I should hang out with her this weekend..."_

That brought to mind yet another thought, though. The last of the caffeine had worn off by the time of the second to last class. Maybe that was why he was so exhausted. He needed to get another one on the train ride home or he'd pass out and _Aniki _would chew him out over drinking more than two cans-

He quickly cut the train of thought, shaking his head a little. Home. He just had to get home, and maybe he could stop. He was most likely going to plan to sleep, remember the chores for the day, and end up not getting any sleep.

The thought made him scowl further. "_Like a vicious cycle I just can't escape..."_

An incessant tapping on his shoulder managed to shake him out of it, and he turned to face the source; eyes already narrowed and brows knotted deeply. He calmed a little as he saw Taiga's concerned expression instead.

"You okay, Boss?" The athlete questioned, frowning softly.

"It's nothing." He dismissed, shaking his head. "Just a lingering headache."

He tensed a little when he saw the slight skepticism in Taiga's face—though to his relief, the man's green eyes immediately shifted to a group at a safe distance from them. As his expression almost immediately lit up, Sai tiredly followed his gaze.

"Looks like Fujiwara-san and her friends are heading home, too." Taiga smiled as he saw the four just ahead of them.

Sai hummed lowly in response. Having the four new students was a breath of fresh air, but it also felt like they were practically all the class could talk about.

"_Well...I can see why, at least." _He found himself unconsciously watching the four as they walked. Fujiwara was practically skipping ahead of the three, hands held behind her back. She would occasionally turn around, walking backwards and giggling whenever Miyamoto would stomp and tell her to turn back around.

Ishida looked significantly more relaxed around the other girls than she did in their class, no longer walking as if she were scared of her own shadow. At first glance, she seemed the most mature out of everyone, but she was a shrinking violet. Something Sai didn't know why he was so surprised by.

Finally, his gaze landed on the last member, and lingered there without him even realizing it.

"_Ribbons." _Like the others, she was attractive. Sai certainly wouldn't deny that.

However, she was attractive in a... softer way, for lack of a better term, than her friends. Her—almost impossibly—long, brown hair framed her features, her lips curved into a perpetual, demure smile. He wanted to say that she had as much of an open expression as Taiga—one that was easy to read, the kind of expression someone who wore their heart on their sleeve would bear.

But he just had the lingering feeling that her expression didn't always quite meet her eyes. Despite being a bright emerald, they always seemed to be hiding some other thought, just buried underneath the gentle smile and elegant aura.

He couldn't help but notice how she seemed to be slowing her steps in order to keep pace with the other three. He figured if she weren't, she'd have probably been at the gate by now.

An odd calm washed over him during his observation. How could he not? That girl seemed to radiate some sort of weird aura that made people want to relax and open up. The thought of it made him a little suspicious—after all, even he found it hard not to talk when she was around.

He wasn't talkative. He had always found it hard not to just respond with one or two quick sentences. And yet...

Realizing what he was doing, Sai snapped his focus away, frowning. Even he was starting to find it odd that she'd held his attention for so long.

Still...that didn't necessarily mean he found it unpleasant.

"Hey, Boss," Taiga's voice snapped him out of it again. "What do you think of them so far?"

"The new students?" Sai asked, clearly distracted.

"Yeah, who else would I be talking about?" Taiga quirked an eyebrow.

"Makes sense." Sai shrugged, shoving his hands into his pockets again. "Well...they're interesting, so far."

"Interesting?"

"Yeah. Though, it might be just because they're the only new students we've gotten in a while."

Taiga gave a light chuckle at that, patting the blond on the shoulder. "Aw, come on, Boss. You have to admit they're growing on you."

"Like a tumor, you mean?" Sai turned, a small smirk on his face. Taiga seemed a bit surprised at it, but quickly realized that the blond was just joking.

"Well, I, for one, like having them around." Taiga grinned. "You have to at least admit that they're bringing some much-needed fun to the class."

"Yeah, I guess they are." Sai conceded with another nonchalant shrug, gaze falling onto the sight of a white ribbon just ahead. "Ribbons even signed up for Anthem, so that's something to look forward to."

"Oh?" Taiga seemed confused for a moment before following his gaze. As he noticed where Sai was looking, his grin immediately grew into a teasing smirk.

"On a nickname basis already, Boss?"

Sai rolled his eyes, groaning and shoving his hands deeper into his pockets, shoulders bunching up in mild frustration.

"Shut it, Taiga."

* * *

The train ride home was a blur for all Sai was concerned. At least the train today didn't seem too packed, which allowed him enough space to put his earbuds in.

The sun had already set, the sky already a dark shade of gray when he finally reached the old, worn down building where he lived. The streetlights were only starting to switch on behind him—though there were only a precious few in the district he lived in.

The blond approached the rusted red gates of the building, reaching just under his jacket and feeling for a pocket within to fish out his keys. The gate swung open with an undignified creak as he opened it, the sound ringing out through the hollow corridor leading in.

Some of the windows to the other apartments in the building were lit up—though darkness quickly reclaimed the corridors the moment he shut the gate. He could make out the faint sounds of conversation, the sound of someone's washing machine running on the second floor. Probably the nice, next door neighbor who liked hanging up her clothes to dry in front of his door.

His steps finally took him to the first door on the second floor—a heavy, wooden one, a rusted padlock hanging on the upper right. It was just a precaution his parents had enforced on him when he first moved into the apartment, not that the area he lived in was dangerous.

"_Then again,"_ Sai thought, thinning his lips in thought. "_Someone apparently stole a pair of shoes from here once."_

Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a small group of girls. He recognized them as the ones that liked hanging around the second floor, just playing and chatting. They fell quiet when they saw him, gazes shifting away with almost sheepish expressions. "_Probably not quiet out of awe, then."_ Not that he'd expected them to. He was the resident, "perpetually exhausted pigeon" as he liked to call it.

He glanced down at his key ring again. "_Small key for the padlock. Square one for the doorknob."_

The heavy door finally creaked open, and he stepped inside—right hand immediately fumbling for the light switch. As the lights of his house came on, so did the light just outside the door.

To his amusement, he heard the girls outside whisper to one another. "Looks like we have light now..."

For a moment, he felt the urge to turn the lights back off. After a quick moment's thought, though, he opted to just head back in and shut the door.

* * *

The moment Sai collapsed into his desktop chair, he felt the tension in his shoulders finally release. He took in a deep breath, letting it filter out slowly as he relaxed; body slackening in the chair as his arms fell limp at his sides.

For a good minute or two, he sat there, eyes closed and breathing steady—feeling the soreness in his legs alleviate from the walk back home from the train station. His jacket lay draped over the back of the chair, shoes kicked off somewhere near the door. His school bag lay sprawled on the floor—in direct contrast to the careful placement of his guitar case hanging on the wall.

Tiredly, he lifted his head and took a glance around the small space that made up his apartment.

It had housed him since his first year at Rokurou, and it wasn't as if he was a stranger to living in small houses. It had a kitchen, a bathroom, and a bedroom with a wide enough space for everything else. That was enough for him—even if it could get a little cramped at times, and the once green walls were fading and were in sore need of a new paint job. One he couldn't bring himself to get around to.

"_Not that I can complain about cramped spaces…"_ He remembered Mikami's room with a wince. That man's room practically felt like a jail cell with how small the space was, combined with the sheer amount of furniture, books and whatever merchandise his bespectacled friend had decorated it with. It was a miracle all four of them could fit in that room.

His living room was nothing too unusual. His father had insisted on letting him have a massive, multi-purpose shelf they had lying around at home. In hindsight, it helped…even though he really didn't have that much to store. A largely unused TV sat squarely in the center, its remote lying somewhere atop the shelf—probably right in front of the DVD player and speakers.

Textbooks, both new and old, mingled on the other shelves—while a certain section of it was stacked, almost to the maximum, with various robot figures. Some were in various action poses, some just standing stiffly. Sai relaxed a little at the sight of them.

It might have been childish of him to still have toys—considering they were already in high school, and college already felt like it was looming just ahead. Whatever the case, it was a hobby—his own hobby, and he wasn't about to let go of it anytime soon.

He heaved himself up from the chair, approaching the sofas in the middle of the living room. He had two, for the occasional visitor. Not that he never had any visitors aside from the guys and Yanagi, anyway—the latter even having slept over at his a few times.

Maybe that was why one of the couches still had a pillow and blanket draped over it.

And almost as if on cue, his phone buzzed. Digging it out of his pocket, he squinted at the name displayed on the screen. _"Chief."_

He accepted the call, and almost immediately Yanagi's voice came over the other end.

"_Hey, Sai!"_

"Yanagi." It was all he could manage in response, turning on his heel to head into the kitchen. He heard the girl groan on the other end.

"_Come on, you could at least try to sound a little more enthusiastic!" _Sai could practically see her pouting expression just from her voice alone. He offered a wry chuckle, glancing around his kitchen.

_Almost out of rice_, he glumly noted. "This _is _my most enthusiastic voice." He deadpanned, pulling open the fridge. _Almost out of coffee, too._

"So, what's up?" He leaned back against the kitchen counter a little. "Something happened with Anthem?"

"_Hey, it's not like every single thing I talk to you about has to relate to Anthem." _Yanagi offered a small giggle with her words this time. _"I was wondering if you wanted to hang out this weekend."_

"This weekend?" Sai hummed, drumming his fingers on the countertop. He didn't have much on his agenda, recently. Aside from that poem Ribbons was going to submit, anyway.

"_Yeah, this weekend. Saturday, Sunday, whichever works for you." _There was a slight pause. _"Well, unless you're busy, that is."_

"Not really, no." Sai shook his head. "Not like I have much to do this week. Only thing I'm waiting on is Ribbons' contribution to the Literary Section."

"_Ribbons…?"_ Yanagi seemed to realize it. _"Oh, you mean Monika?"_

"Yeah. She said she writes poetry, plans on bringing the whole genre back to the section. I'm not complaining. People are more likely to read poems written by a cute girl than short stories written by some scary guy."

Yanagi laughed a bit. _"Sounds like you're already planning on accepting her into the section, Sai."_

"Sort of. I can't say anything for sure until I see her writing." Sai chuckled. "There ain't no bigger insult to a writer than just casually dismissing their work without actually reading it."

"_Speaking from experience?"_

"Sorta." Sai shrugged, relaxing somewhat. At least he could still talk to Yanagi about Ribbons without being teased about it. Taiga and Ran seemed to have already gotten into their heads that he was interested in her in that way just because of the nickname…

He grimaced as he remembered his unconscious and yet undivided focus on the brunette earlier. _Fuck, am I in denial?_

In an effort to shake off that damn brunette and her big white ribbon from his head, he quickly changed the topic. "Anyway, I should be free on Saturday. What are we gonna be up to?"

"_I was thinking we could go try to set some bars at the Galactica Arcade downtown. You know—since Taiga's been bragging about his and Kami's shiny new high score on Highway to Hell 2?"_

"A chance to show my student how the boss does it?" Sai chuckled. "Sounds fun. I'm in."

"_Great! So, how about we meet up around 10 AM in front of Golden Bird Bookstore?"_

"You don't want to just go straight to the arcade?"

"_I'm just making sure you're not gonna get started without me." _Yanagi laughed, although her voice quickly grew into a softer, more genuine one. _"After all, we're a team, right?"_

Sai couldn't help but smile a little at her earnest tone.

"Yeah," He gave a sure nod along with his words.

"We're a team."

* * *

**Author's Note: Chapter 7 done! I'm not gonna lie, I wasn't sure how to tackle this one exactly. I had the idea of the continuation of the music scene down in my head, but everything else after that was a little blurry to me. **

**Then, I figured- hey, I've spent a few chapters already writing in Monika's perspective. So, I decided to show off Sai's perspective on things this time! It was pretty fun writing as him, personally. He tends to be a lot more disjointed and a lot more "gray" in general when it comes to observing things. I'm definitely going to experiment a lot more with writing from certain character perspectives the more this series goes on!**

**Anyway, apologies for the delay in the updates. Just had to sort some things out with my university, and admittedly, aside from not knowing how to tackle this chapter, I may or may not have gotten immersed into a few games. Rest assured though that I'll still be updating this fic. I've put too much thought and work into it to stop now!**

**That being said, if you like the story so far, feel free to leave a review, and thank you for supporting the continued writing of _Opposing Perspectives!_**


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